McNamara escapes action

Bradford have lost their bid to have the controversial result of Sunday's defeat by Leeds overturned but received some good news today when coach Steve McNamara was told he will not face action for his post-match comments.

The Bulls called on Leeds to hand over the points from their 42-38 victory at the Millennium Stadium following an admission by referee Steve Ganson that he wrongly awarded a match-winning try on the final hooter to Rhinos substitute Jordan Tansey.

Leeds gave the request short shrift and the Rugby Football League have ruled out any possibility of reversing the result, with an RFL spokesperson saying: In our operational rules, it states a club shall not be entitled to object to a result on the grounds of a match official's decision."

Slow-motion replays indicated Tansey was clearly offside as he chased captain Kevin Sinfield's penalty kick at goal which rebounded off a post and Ganson admitted he ought to have consulted video referee Ashley Klein.

McNamara, the new Great Britain assistant coach, claimed in the post-match press conference that Ganson "invented the penalty" and that his side were cheated out of victory.

That might have brought a charge of bringing the game into disrepute but the League clearly felt that it would have rubbed salt into Bradford's wounds.

"Due to the unique set of circumstances we are not planning to take any action regarding Steve McNamara's after-match comments," the RFL spokesperson added.

Meanwhile, Bradford hooker Terry Newton will face the League's disciplinary committee tomorrow after being charged with striking.

The Great Britain international was put on report by Ganson in the 12th minute for an alleged high tackle on Leeds front-rower Jamie Thackray and the League's video review panel decided today he has a case to answer.

Newton served a two-match ban earlier this season after being found guilty of striking St Helens forward Jon Wilkin and a suspension of any kind would rule him out of Sunday's Challenge Cup fifth round tie at Wakefield.