Lebanon captain Robbie Farah has accused England wing Jermaine McGillvary of biting him during the British outfit’s 29-10 win in the Rugby League World Cup.
The Huddersfield player got into a scuffle with the Lebanese just two minutes into the second half before a replay of the alleged bite was broadcast live on the big screen at Sydney Football Stadium.
McGillvary, who scored during the win, has been one of the stars of Wayne Bennett’s side during the campaign, but could face disciplinary action following the incident.
Lebanon captain Robbie Farah has accused England wing Jermaine McGillvary of biting him
The Huddersfield star then got into a brawl with the Lebanese following the incident
Farah shows referee Ben Thaler his arm after the alleged bite in the Rugby League World Cup
English referee Ben Thaler referred the incident to a disciplinary panel, who will review it on Monday.
‘You never like seeing any of those things happen on a footy field,’ said Farah. ‘I reacted to what happened. It’s pretty clear for everyone to see what happened on the replay.’
The Sydney-born hooker was proud of his side’s performance despite suffering their first loss of the tournament following their impressive win over France last week.
‘When you play a team that’s one of the best in the world, you need the rub of the green – or at least a fair go,’ he added. ‘I thought we were hard done by there with a few of the calls
‘But credit to our guys – our effort was outstanding and we definitely didn’t disgrace ourselves – if anything, we earned a little bit of respect.
‘At the end of the day, we’re a team of park footballers. To compete for 80 minutes like that against a world-class team is an outstanding effort. I can’t praise my boys enough.’
A replay of the incident was broadcast on the big screen live at the Sydney Football Stadium
McGillvary, who scored in the win, has been one of England’s stars of the campaign so far
English official Thaler has referred the incident to a panel, who will review it on Monday
Although the incident may have marred the result, England eventually ran out comfortable winners.
Tries from Kallum Watkins, McGillvary, Ryan Hall, Ben Currie and Thomas Burgess ensured Bennett’s men got their tournament back on track after a disappointing loss to Australia in the opening round of fixtures.
The damage was done before the break, when Watkins, Mcgillvary and Hall all crossed the whitewash to give England a convincing lead.
Burgess put the game out of reach in the second before Jason Wehbe crossed for a consolation for the visitors.