Reece Walsh has denied verbally abusing a match official during Sunday's loss to the Titans, claiming he was directing his expletive-laden spray towards a player on the field.
The superstar fullback, who is just days removed from being sent off in State of Origin, found himself in hot water after the on-field microphones picked up him yelling 'f**k me c**t' during Brisbane's 18-12 defeat at Suncorp Stadium.
Walsh was penalised and marched an extra ten metres by Chris Butler for the incident, which could receive attention from the NRL match review committee on Monday morning.
But in a surprising twist, Walsh took to social media to shut down claims he was abusing the referee.
In a post to his Instagram account, Walsh said that he was directing the comments towards another player, and apologised to Butler for the fiasco.
"Whilst I don’t promote this language to be directed at anybody, I would NEVER direct this type of language towards a referee," Walsh said
"I understand how it may look and I’ve reached out to Chris Butler to apologize if he thought I was speaking to him.
"And whilst I am not proud of this and want to put it behind me, I also wanted to let the public, and in particular young kids playing the game know that I would never swear at a referee and neither should anybody else – they do a great job and play a huge role in making rugby league the best game in the world."
Earlier on Sunday following the loss, Walsh also defended himself in the comment section of a Fox League Instagram post, as did Broncos captain Adam Reynolds, who denied the 20-year-old had sworn at Butler, claiming the blow-up was instead aimed at an opposing player during a tense moment.
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If he is found guilty, Walsh could spend a few weeks on the sidelines and potentially be ruled out of the final Origin clash for the Maroons on July 12th.
For context regarding Reece Walsh’s alleged use of a profanity directed at the referee in the Broncos loss to the Titans today, Andrew Johns was hit with a charge that carried a 4 week suspension for the exact same thing in 2006 after verbally abusing Matt Cecchin.#NRL
— Warren Smith (@WarrenSmithFOX) June 25, 2023
Regardless of the nature of the incident, Walsh's conduct in recent days has earned him plenty of criticism from fans and there may be some stern words coming his way from the likes of Kevin Walters and Billy Slater.
Hard not to look at the way Reece Walsh conducted himself today and conclude his departure played a part in the Warriors team culture improving. An incredibly talented young player who still has a bit of growing up to do. #NRLBroncosTitans
— Jordan Patu (@Jordan_Patu) June 25, 2023
Has Reece Walsh become the biggest pelican in the comp? #NRLBroncosTitans
— Jake Carden (@JakeCarden13) June 25, 2023
The Walsh video.. clearly the other Broncos players weren’t impressed with him either. #NRLBroncosTitans #NRL pic.twitter.com/cXcYfqAfpT
— Rugby League News (@RugbyLeagueNews) June 25, 2023
Walsh will be hopeful of lining up for the Broncos in their Round 18 fixture against the Dolphins next weekend.
