Just seen on teletext widnes have got a fine suspended for 12 months after fans invaded the pitch after the northern rail cup final, which I think is the correct punishment, however it does call into question the severity of our own fine.

I know we have discussed it at length but it just seems to be that the RFL make up fines as they go along - no consistancy. We were guilty under the 'Respect' banner - and as a qualifed RFL official I can confirm that unauthorised persons entering the playing area also falls under the repect catagory.

Common RFL set out some proper guidelines, with what punishement can be expected and stick to it stop moving the goal posts.

The difference is our fans had just witnessed us winning a cup and were in good spirits and not exactly causing trouble. The fine we recieved reflected this. It was not a pitch invasion and it was not bad behaviour.

Sorry Chris, but surely a pitch invasion is bad behaviour, whatever the reason behind it, or however you wish to dress it up, encroaching onto a pitch is banned because it puts the safety of the players and referee in jeopardy. IMO Widnes were very lucky not to get a fine.

Different offences, different charges, different sentences.

(eg: Widnes were charged with, and convicted of, 1 breach of the operational rules. We were charged with and convicted of 3 breaches)

What's an interesting point of inequity is when you compare what FIFA have dished out to clubs such as Rangers for violent assaults/clashes with police/secretarian chants etc. (i.e about half what we got - and we're not in the multi-million-pound business either).

Glad for Widnes - they've had more than their fair share of injustice.

However, it is rulings such as this - not to mention how Leigh have been protected at the expense of Gateshead (surely you either relegate them as a punishment for last season - or you punish them for the forthcoming season by not relegating them but imposing a point deduction = not both!) -

all of this really makes me doubt the integrity of our vested interest ruling body.

If you read my post you will see that I am not having a go at Widnes infact I said that the punishment was appropriate for the offence. What I am saying is that the RFL need to set out clear guidelines and consistent punishment. At the moment they seem to club everything under the respect banner and make up the punishment as they go along

A minor point: Gateshead restarting in Championship 1 was a decision and request by Gateshead, not an RFL decision, 'relegation' or 'punishment'.

If that's the case, I should have checked my facts further, however, I'm still convinced that we were punished to an extent that other clubs would not have been.

An invasion suggests there were many people swamping the pitch which wasn't the case. Honestly, it was a non violent bunch of kids wanting to shake the hands of players after the match. No negativity. No aggression. No parallel.

I realise the world has changed but if this had happened in the olden days you wouldn't have thought twice about it.

You are clutching at straws. Why on earth do you think the rfl are against Cas? Far from it.