Des Hasler. Photo / Getty Images
Bulldogs coach Des Hasler has accepted the breach notice issued against him by the NRL for his criticism of the league referees after the Bulldogs' defeat to Penrith on Sunday but has compared referees to an evil character in the Harry Potter books.
Hasler was slapped with the $10,000 suspended
fine, becoming the first to fall foul of the new edict forbidding coaches and captains from speaking about referees.
Hasler admitted he wasn't aware what the NRL would allow him to say or not say.
And, in his own inimitable way, he said he would substitute the use of the word "referee" for the name of an evil character in the Harry Potter books in front of the cameras for the remainder of the season.
"It's about understanding the policy of 'he whose name you cannot mention' so let's call him Voldemort," Hasler said. "Paragraph 31 sub clause two says that comment on means you can't say anything nice about them, you can't say anything positive about them, you can't say anything about the Voldemorts. That is what they think is pragmatic and reasonable. If you are an advocate for free speech then it's not too good.
