Ashley Klein gambling Problems

Sully said:
Make back $400k by placing a bet that an NRL side could lose after the final whistle.

Name your price🤪🤪🤪

Who was the bunker ref for the NQ debacle ?

Video referee Ashley Klein was the bunker official in the controversial round 19, 2022 match between the Wests Tigers and NQ Cowboys.

The NRL later admitted that the bunker got the decision wrong and fedora pretended to grow some kegs to challenge but nothing..
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Starts at 1:40:50 if you want to see Klein making a terrible call in the bunker. Asu Kepaoa was going for the ball and he never takes his eyes off the ball. He's allowed to slow in his run if he continues to run in a straight line to the ball. Crooked as you come.

Interesting to see Ben Gardiner, the new Perth Bears coach, was in charge for that game.
 
Exposing his issues now is going to make it impossible very quickly for him to be in charge of any games on weekends.

In a world where mental health is now a huge focus- just imagine the ridicule he is going to face on gameday, anywhere, on any decision that is 50/50?

I think there will be some genuinely humorous ribbing & goading- but there's going to be some seriously vicious vitriol directed toward him & the officials at nearly every game now.

The NRL, as an employer, wouldn't be showing best practice for it's employees, putting him in that situation.

He should have been removed from officiating responsibilities in 2019. He HAS to be now. For not just the NRL's sake, but probably his & his family.

How Valandys responds to this is important.
 
gregjm87 said:
Two seperate issues here.

1) NRL allowing him to ref with known gambling/financial concerns.

2) Has his financial concerns corrupted his integrity when refereeing games.

With regards to issue 1, I'm not sure how the NRL could initially keep him on in the role. Particularly as they try to distance employees from gambling conflicts. Surely avenues for him to be employed elsewhere or simply stood down. If stood down further questions of if/when he could possibly return to refereeing but no action is pretty unbelievable.

Having said that I think it would actually be weaker to take action now. For 4 years he was refereeing games with known gambling issues. A further 3 with remaining large gambling debts. If the NRL has deemed him fit to referee all this time, the revelation becoming public shouldn't change that.

2) there is no genuine suggestions of corruption. This isnt simply his own accounts don't show NRL bets but it would also be no irregular betting activity on his games. Any large irregular betting gets picked up pretty quickly Ryan Tandy, Bellamy Dally M, Storm wooden spoon as some examples.
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All good points but it’s not a good look for the NRL is it?
 
Lestronge said:
Mate you’re wrong on both of these .
Point 1 . The rules about involvement with betting companies and affiliates are black and white . You’re not allowed. In a business where the integrity of it is the most inportant of all things , his very being there undermines the integrity , and as such is grounds for instant dismissal. It’s literally like for my industry if I went out and sabotaged equipment accidentally / indirectly, and it was all over the news I’d cost the company tens of millions of dollars. I’d be let go that day .
Point 2 . Just because there’s no paper trail , the very fact the lead nrl red spend his spare time , around the Sydney underworld and gaming industry is once again grounds for instant dismissal .
I worked a job in another life where I signed away and agreed to behave in certain ways , keep certain information quiet , and sacrifice other things because they were detrimental to and contrary to the role I was asked to perform . Whether he did or didn’t is irrelevant . The integrity of the game is sacrosanct. He simply by association at best , and who knows what at worse , has gone against what it’s clear in his role he’s not supposed to do.
No different to many of us who work in roles where some of the restrictions of the role can limit things .
Especially when clubs and fans and players have been breached in the past by being in the wrong place at the wrong time .
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I think you have made two very good points arguing against point one. However yes the rules around involvement with betting companies is black and white his involvement as a customer is not against those black and white rules. Should it be? Yeah, for a whole list of reasons including those you bring up, but it is not. Would I be fine if they tightened up those rules and ultimately dismissed him? Yes. But again he has not breached the current rules. However I don't believe they can dismiss him without tightening up the rules and even then I'm not sure they could as he is reportedly no longer breaching them. The only possible breach as it stands is a catch all of bringing the game into disrepute but in my experience contracts don't have such wide, vague statements.

I don't believe you have addressed point 2. There is no evidence of his integrity as a referee being breached.
 
gregjm87 said:
Two seperate issues here.

1) NRL allowing him to ref with known gambling/financial concerns.

2) Has his financial concerns corrupted his integrity when refereeing games.

With regards to issue 1, I'm not sure how the NRL could initially keep him on in the role. Particularly as they try to distance employees from gambling conflicts. Surely avenues for him to be employed elsewhere or simply stood down. If stood down further questions of if/when he could possibly return to refereeing but no action is pretty unbelievable.

Having said that I think it would actually be weaker to take action now. For 4 years he was refereeing games with known gambling issues. A further 3 with remaining large gambling debts. If the NRL has deemed him fit to referee all this time, the revelation becoming public shouldn't change that.

2) there is no genuine suggestions of corruption. This isnt simply his own accounts don't show NRL bets but it would also be no irregular betting activity on his games. Any large irregular betting gets picked up pretty quickly Ryan Tandy, Bellamy Dally M, Storm wooden spoon as some examples.
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As I understand it , irregular betting only gets picked up in the mainstream domestic betting markets where they have compliance/legal requirements. Plenty of overseas markets where the nrl and commission have no oversight. So no, we can't say there is no corruption.

The NRL has dropped the ball bad here on the first one. How is a gambling problem like this any different to an alcohol or drug addiction. It definitely impacts your performance. How could it not, you are a sports/racing gambler that rides wins and losses with an addictive and risk tendancy. That should not be the type of employee the nrl has in referees. Its not an indictment on Ashley, I've been there, it can grip you...but its not in the best interest of him to be in that high stakes sporting environment.
 
My gut feeling is that it's a bad look for RL but Klien has not influenced any results.
I mean been 250k in the hole and you have predetermined the result makes you a special kid of stupid.
 
BrissieTiger67 said:
As I understand it , irregular betting only gets picked up in the mainstream domestic betting markets where they have compliance/legal requirements. Plenty of overseas markets where the nrl and commission have no oversight. So no, we can't say there is no corruption.

The NRL has dropped the ball bad here on the first one. How is a gambling problem like this any different to an alcohol or drug addiction. It definitely impacts your performance. How could it not, you are a sports/racing gambler that rides wins and losses with an addictive and risk tendancy. That should not be the type of employee the nrl has in referees. Its not an indictment on Ashley, I've been there, it can grip you...but its not in the best interest of him to be in that high stakes sporting environment.
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Irregular betting in overseas markets is still largely monitored. But you can never 100% rule out corruption, all you can say is despite sophisticated software used by multiple agents no betting irregularities have been detected in Ash Klein's games.
I agree the NRL dropped the ball back in 2019. I'm just not sure what the right path forward is now.
 
All I’m going to say is this. PVL is the head of the NRL AND Racing NSW. Who are the biggest stakeholders for both sports to generate revenue?

The NRL have to stand him down. You can’t have the highest profile referee officiating games with the public being aware of this issue.
 
gregjm87 said:
Two seperate issues here.

1) NRL allowing him to ref with known gambling/financial concerns.

2) Has his financial concerns corrupted his integrity when refereeing games.

With regards to issue 1, I'm not sure how the NRL could initially keep him on in the role. Particularly as they try to distance employees from gambling conflicts. Surely avenues for him to be employed elsewhere or simply stood down. If stood down further questions of if/when he could possibly return to refereeing but no action is pretty unbelievable.

Having said that I think it would actually be weaker to take action now. For 4 years he was refereeing games with known gambling issues. A further 3 with remaining large gambling debts. If the NRL has deemed him fit to referee all this time, the revelation becoming public shouldn't change that.

2) there is no genuine suggestions of corruption. This isnt simply his own accounts don't show NRL bets but it would also be no irregular betting activity on his games. Any large irregular betting gets picked up pretty quickly Ryan Tandy, Bellamy Dally M, Storm wooden spoon as some examples.
Click to expand...
Also depends on his employment contract with the NRL and what that states. Probably just very specific to NRL gambling and not other forms of gambling.
 
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