St Helens chief in hot water for breach of ‘operational rules’

Saints' supremo Paul Wellens and his Salford counterpart, Paul Rowley, seem to be in hot water with the Rugby League powers-that-be.

Post-match comments they made to the press in the last couple of weeks have been referred to the RL compliance department, according to the BBC.

Wellens accused the RFL of failing to protect his players in the shock Challenge Cup semi-final defeat Leigh in July, while Rowley criticised the match officials in charge of Sunday's Super League game against the title holders and described them as 'a disgrace .'

In a statement, the RFL told the BBC that the pair had potentially breached the sport's operational rules.

Following their setback against Leigh, Wellens was critical of the match review panel's processes after Agnatius Paasi and Alex Walmsley suffered season-ending injuries in tackles by John Asiata.

Asiata was not issued with a ban by the panel, but Wellens alleged their decision was taken prior to hearing Paasi and Walmsley' eventual diagnosis.

Meanwhile, Rowley said that their defeat was allegedly decided by the officials.