Brian Noble and Jonathan Davies slam ‘ridiculous’ Challenge Cup final double sin-binning

BBC punditry duo Brian Noble and Jonathan Davies both hit out at the double sin-binning at the start of this year’s Challenge Cup final – with Davies calling the situation ‘ridiculous’ and Noble insisting both decisions were wrong.

Wigan prop Mike Cooper was sin-binned inside the opening two minutes of the Wembley final and, in the following minutes, Warrington fullback Matt Dufty was also shown a yellow card, both for tackles that were deemed dangerous by referee Chris Kendall.

With the pair off the field, Warrington took an early 2-0 lead in the final but the decisions did not pass by without comment or controversy.

Davies said after Cooper’s yellow card after a tackle on Josh Thewlis: “I can’t believe this is happening. That is ridiculous.” Cooper was adjudged to have provided too much force in the tackle. “He’s going down and it’s a harsh penalty.”

Noble said: “The referee reflected there’s force in that. Of course there is! He’s trying to stop the bloke come the other way.”

Davies then commented on the Dufty yellow, after he was adjudged to have caught Liam Marshall high, by saying: “You can’t do tit-for-tat. If one is yellow, the other one might not be yellow. Purely because of the first decision, the referee is going to do the same.”

Meanwhile, Noble was equally as frustrated. “Both yellow cards are wrong for me,” he said. “It’s the start of a game, there’s no foul play is intended. He’s gone over his head.. keep players on the field.”

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