Bulldogs star Sam Hughes has found himself in trouble after appearing to make contact with NRL referee Kasey Badger on Saturday.
The incident happened in the first half during the Bulldogs’ match with the Wests Tigers at Accor Stadium.
Hughes appearing to shove Badger who found herself in his path after coming out of a scrum on the defensive line.
The NRL match review looked at the incident closely on Sunday and decided not to suspend him.
Hughes escaped the Grade 1 charge and was instead hit with a $3000 fine. He will face a two match ban if he contests the decision and loses.
It comes after another incident involving contact between a referee and player earlier in the season.
Jahrome Hughes copped a ban for shoving referee Chris Butler while trying to stop a try in March while playing the Warriors.
Replays show Hughes nudging Butler out of the way, with the referee hitting the ground before the Storm halfback attempts a try-saving tackle.
Tensions threatened to erupt throughout the Bulldogs’ 22-14 win and eventually a scuffle broke out when David Klemmer went to the sin bin for dissent in the final 10 minutes.
Canterbury hooker Reed Mahoney rushed in to confront Seyfarth as he grabbed at Canterbury teammate Viliame Kikau and as the third man into the fray, he appeared to wear a headbutt from the Tigers prop.
‘I was just doing what anyone else would do, just running in there and protecting their mate,’ Mahoney said.
Unlike after the fracas in the win over Newcastle, Mahoney was spared the sin bin, though the same could not be said for Seyfarth.
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