Canterbury forward Sam Hughes could find himself in some strife after appearing to shove NRL referee Kasey Badger.
The incident unfolded midway through the opening half as the Bulldogs went up against the Wests Tigers at Accor Stadium.
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After peeling out from a scrum, Hughes joins the defensive line before Tigers five-eighth Lachlan Gavin cuts back infield.
As Gavin diverts back towards where the scrum was unfolding, Badger unfortunately finds herself in Hughes’ way.
Hughes then appears to shove Badger out of the way while maintaining his positioning in the line.
The NRL match review committee are set to view the incident on Sunday along which will attract more attention due to Badger being a female official.
If Hughes is found guilty he will be charged. It would be the second time this year a player has landed in hot water over contact with a referee.
Melbourne Storm star Jahrome Hughes was suspended for pushing referee Chris Butler in a game against the New Zealand Warriors in March.
Hughes was defending just metres from his line as the last man in defence with Warriors centre Rocco Berry charging at him.
Butler backtracked into Hughes who pushed the official out of the way and he then successfully made the try-saving tackle to keep the scores locked at 8-8.
While the spotlight on Sunday will be on Hughes, it was Badger who found herself in the spotlight following the Bulldogs 22-14 win over the Tigers.
As the Bulldogs held onto a 16-14 lead in the second half, Aidan Sezer looked destined to be sent off following a hip drop tackle on Josh Curran.
Despite the clamp down on the dangerous tackling method by the league, Badger only placed Sezer on report allowing him to remain on the field.
The decision left Warren Smith and the Bulldogs faithful in disbelief.
“On report and he stays on the field. That is stunning,” Smith said.
“Given that already this round we’ve seen a player sin binned for a hip drop, I can’t believe he’s staying on the field.”
The NRL official’s name began trending on X as fans tore into her over her handling of the contest.
One user wrote: “Kasey badger should not take the field for a very, very long time. This is a disgrace.”
A second wrote: “If Kasey Badger is the standard of @NRL refereeing. God help this competition and the sport. For both teams, the officiating has been utterly rubbish. Has she got an actual call right? We are 25 mins in.”
A third added: “To say Kasey Badger was poor yesterday isn’t a misogynistic comment it is plain and simply fact! Hopefully she improves and can be a top official but yesterday’s performance whether it was a man or woman was absolutely diabolical.”
The win for the Bulldogs pushed them into the top eight with a 4-4 record through the opening eight rounds.
The Tigers fall to 2-6 on the season and sit down in 15th spot on the ladder, only ahead of the Gold Coast Titans and South Sydney Rabbitohs.