Klein should stand down from Origin duties following gambling revelations

June 15, 2026 — 5:00am

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Referee Ashley Klein must stand down from Wednesday night’s second State of Origin match, now that the NRL has refused to sack him from the code’s showpiece game, despite his gambling problems escalating significantly under the watch of the current administration.

Rugby league is on the eve of signing the richest broadcasting deal in Australian sport at a time when the credibility of the code is under siege after this masthead revealed the NRL’s top referee had a $400,000 gambling problem. Yet, Klein has been appointed to officiate a game watched by 4 million viewers, where one wrong call could decide the result.

Wednesday night’s game at the MCG will be Klein’s 14th Origin in a row, and the middle match in the annual three-game series.

The past two series have turned in the second match in controversial circumstances. In 2024, after Klein justifiably sent off NSW’s Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii in Sydney, the Blues enjoyed a rush of repeat sets in the second match at the MCG, setting up a decider in Brisbane.

Last year, after NSW comfortably won the opening match in Brisbane, Queensland received a flood of first-half penalties in Perth, setting up a decider in........

© The Sydney Morning Herald