State of Origin referee Ashley Klein was on the receiving end of significant booing when he was shown on the big screen ahead of kick-off at State of Origin II.
Klein has been under intense scrutiny after revelations the veteran official previously battled a gambling addiction that reportedly cost him more than $400,000.
The NRL has confirmed it first became aware of Klein’s gambling problem in 2019 and investigated the matter, finding no breaches of league rules or policies.
Klein has insisted he never gambled on rugby league and said his officiating career was never affected by the addiction.
As debate swirled around the game’s most experienced referee, NSW players rallied behind him, describing the matter as a personal issue and praising his long record at the highest level.
NSW hooker Reece Robson went further, backing Klein’s credentials as one of the game’s leading officials.
Ashley Klein was on the receiving end of significant booing as he was shown on the big screen at the MCG
‘He’s a great referee,’ Robson said.
The support from the players has been significant but that hasn’t been able to cool fan reaction.
When he appeared on the big screen as the official announcement of the referee, the fans inside a packed MCG made their feelings known.
Boos rang out around the ground, as the fans appeared to have little sympathy for Klein.
He has also been on the receiving end of some online abuse as fans expressed their displeasure at having Klein as the man in the middle.
Though it is worth acknowledging that much of the vitriol is based around his ability as a ref and less about the betting issues that had been reported.
One user under the account Mandy Mands wrote on X, ‘I find it hard to believe Ashley Klein is the best ref we have.
‘I don’t know who I’d pick instead, but this is bleak.’
Another user posted, ‘What is NRL ref Klein going to do against Queensland tonight to make it all about him?’
While some had made comments about the quality of officiating, others were simply revelling in the reception for the ref.
‘Love the Klein boos,’ a user under the name Stephanie Williams wrote on the social media platform along with a series of laughing emojis.
Another added, ‘The Klein boos,’ with an okay hand gesture emoji.
Another user claimed that the loud boos heard at the ground were also echoed at a local pub in north Queensland.
‘I’m at a pub in the deep north of Queensland and Ashley Klein received a quadrillion more boos than the welcome to the country.’
The reaction to Klein will raise concerns about the treatment of referees and it is one that had been touched on prior to the game by Blues forward Mitch Barnett.
‘That’s not a topic for me to discuss at all,’ Barnett said.
‘As someone who cares about people, I hope he’s doing OK and had all the help he can get, but that has nothing to do with me, and I won’t comment any further on that.’
