Melbourne Storm NRL star Cameron Smith whinges to referee after pulling on rival’s ears

Melbourne Storm star Cameron Smith has been slammed for whinging to a referee after being penalised for pulling on an opponent’s ears.

Smith questioned referee Ben Cummins about the call during Sunday night’s game against the Canberra Raiders at AAMI Park in Melbourne.

‘I just want some clarification on what that penalty was for there?’ Smith asked Cummins after he was pinged for pulling on Raiders winger Bailey Simonsson’s ears.

‘Rubbish on the face mate, and it was you,’ Cummins told Smith.

Smith laughed at the explanation and requested further clarification by asking him: ‘Rubbish on the face?’

Footy fans took to social media to criticise Smith for his actions, calling him an ‘absolute grub’ and a ‘cheat’

Cummins responded ‘yeah’, to which an incredulous Smith said ‘okay, no worries’. 

Footy fans took to social media to criticise Smith for his actions, calling him an ‘absolute grub’ and a ‘cheat’.

‘Cameron Smith does this all the time and gets away with it. Good on you Ben Cummins for finally penalising him for it,’ one person said.

Smith and his Storm teammates have previously been accused of using dirty tactics in tackles including wrestling opponents to slow the play-the-ball down.

Smith’s coach Craig Bellamy defended his team after Sunday’s game.

‘It always seems to come up this time of year. The thing that disappoints me a bit (is) the guys who brought it up or are talking about it are saying we do this or that at training,’ Bellamy said.

‘I’ve never seen those guys at (our) training, so how do they know what we’re doing at training? We practice this and we practice that… but they have never been to training so I don’t know how they know that. 

‘The insinuation is we look for shortcuts and exploit this and exploit that… they just work really hard. The whole squad don’t get enough recognition for how hard they work.’

Smith and his Storm teammates have previously been accused of using dirty tactics in tackles including wrestling opponents to slow the play-the-ball down

Smith attracted controversy earlier in the week when it was revealed his wife Barbara was given a $15,000 diamond ring by the NRL to celebrate his 400th game.

The NRL had previously announced Smith, 36, would be receiving the Waterford crystal football in recognition of his commitment to the club, but there was no mention of a ring for his wife.

Smith, 36, who is widely considered one of the best players to ever play rugby league, previously took home $150,000 from a testimonial match in 2018.

Todd Greenberg, chief executive of the NRL, defended the present to Mrs Smith, saying the wives of rugby stars play a vital support system for players.

‘Our biggest stars wouldn’t be where they are today without the women in their lives,’ Mr Greenberg said, The Daily Telegraph reported. 

‘We make no apologies for honouring the amazing role Barb has played and the sacri­fices she has made throughout Cameron’s career,’ he said. 

Speaking with 2GB’s Alan Jones on Friday morning, Mr Greenberg said the ring was never a secret.

‘The only person this was a secret from was Barb herself because we wanted to give her a surprise,’ he said.

‘She’s a remarkable woman. Without her, there’s no doubt, Cameron has said it himself, he wouldn’t have made 400 matches.’

Smith attracted controversy earlier in the week when it was revealed his wife Barbara was given a $15,000 diamond ring by the NRL to celebrate his 400th game