'We didn't abuse him': Roosters powerbrokers Nick Politis, Mark Bouris probed over Las Vegas incident
Updated . First published at
Roosters supremo Nick Politis is reportedly under investigation over an incident that occurred in Las Vegas last weekend.
The club chairman, as well as board member Mark Bouris, are alleged to have abused a referee at the Nines tournament, according to The Sydney Morning Herald.
The complaint came from referee Mitch James and is now with the NRL integrity unit.
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James officiated the pool match between the LA Roosters and Brisbane Veterans, with the latter side winning 12-10 and garnering a reaction from both Politis and Bouris, who were also on deck to support the touring Greece side.
Nick Politis is the long-time chairman of the Roosters. Getty
In a statement to the NRL, the official gave detail of the situation and also revealed he was taken off his touchline assignment for the Greece vs USA game.
"Mr Mark Bouris and Mr Nick Politis confronted me." he wrote. "Mr. Bouris stated, 'I've seen a lot of football and that was a disgrace! You reffed us out of the game.'
"I responded, 'And all your advice has been good too, has it, Mark?' Following this, Mr. Politis began making additional remarks, at which point the ground manager intervened and ushered me away from the situation."
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The matter was forwarded from Graham Annesley to the integrity unit.
Bouris has since confirmed there was an incident that took place, but denies either he or Politis were hostile towards James.
Mark Bouris poses for a photo with Nick Politis, Phil Gould and Todd Gurley. Instagram
"We were not in his face, I made sure we stayed our distance. We were not threatening, and we didn't abuse him and didn't swear," he told the Herald.
"We did go over and I did say that I had seen a lot of football and that refereeing was disgraceful. Nick said something similar. I do not believe I said to him he 'reffed us out of the game'. Maybe someone else said that.
"He may have filed a formal complaint against us, but we filed one against him at the tournament because of the poor standard of refereeing."
James also alleges in his report that he was accused of being the father of two of the Brisbane players, despite being 35 years old and the youngest player being "about 28."
