Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga has defended World Cup final referee Ashley Klein's decision to sin bin forward Angus Crichton following an on-field incident that saw Samoan half Chanel Harris-Tavita carted off the field.
Early into the second half of Australia's title-clinching 30-10 victory, Crichton clashed with an oncoming Harris-Tavita with a raised elbow, leaving the latter knocked out by the blow.
Despite the nasty incident occurring amid a dead ball situation, Klein opted to sin bin Crichton instead of ending his night early.
The decision was labelled "weak" by Samoa coach Matt Parish post-game, adding to a frustrating night for the World Cup finalists.
Intentional or not, Angus Crichton has to sit for 10 after this high elbow.
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“Five minutes into the second half our hooker gets elbowed in the head and gets carted off, then the referee makes a weak decision and puts him in the bin, dumbfounded,” a perplexed Parish said.
“An elbow to the head and the hooker gets knocked out and taken out of the game.”
When questioned on the call, Meninga said the comments from his Samoan counterpart were uncalled for.
"My view is that he should have stayed on the field, that's just silly," the Australian coach said.
Crichton was apologetic post-game, stating the incident was not in the nature of his game.
The Roosters second-rower revealed he was unaware of Harris-Tavita's presence, but reached out to the playmaker after the win.
“I didn't know he was coming and there was no malice at all, sending out my blessings to his family,” Crichton said, via Fox Sports.
“It is all love between me and Chanel, I spoke to him after the game and I apologised, whenever I play football I don't try to injure anyone.
“I never want to see anyone get injured on a football field, we love rugby league because of the nature of the sport, we don't go out there trying to hurt people.
“I just want everyone to know it was just a genuine reaction, I never go out on the field to try and hurt someone."
The ugly ending to Harris-Tavita's World Cup campaign could be the 23-year-old's final moment in rugby league, having decided to step away from the game this year.
The New Zealand-born five-eighth played over 50 games for the Warriors in the NRL, making his debut in 2019.
