Rugby league boss Peter V'landys has defended the decision to allow Penrith winger Taylan May to play in the NRL finals despite being found guilty of assault.
A court heard that while celebrating last year's grand final win, a young fan recorded star Panthers half Nathan Cleary, who then approached the man and wanted the video deleted.
CCTV footage shows May walk up behind the man, grab him by the collar and throw him to the ground. He was found guilty of assault last week, although no conviction was recorded by the court.
May was banned for two games, but in an unprecedented move by the NRL, he is allowed to serve it at the start of next season so he does not miss the Panthers' finals campaign.
"In proposing the timing of the match suspension, the NRL considered a number of factors including when the incident took place, the date at which the proceedings were finalised and the impact of a match suspension at this time of year," the NRL said in a statement.
Australian Rugby League commissioner V'landys said the decision was made for the fans.
"We will consider the fans," he told Channel Nine.
"A lot of ex-players look at it through the players' lens, we look at it through everyone's lens. And the most important person now is the fan.
"Why penalise the Penrith fans for an indiscretion the player did?
"The person that should be paying the penalty is the player, and they will because they've got two matches and a substantial part of their salary."
The 21-year-old May was fined $7,500 by the league with half of it suspended.
Panthers coach Ivan Cleary said critics should respect the NRL's move.
"The NRL has made it's decision, just get on with it," he said.
"The current [NRL] management, they make good calls and we abide by them. We can't control who is playing and who is not."
Former Penrith player and coach Phil Gould said May should not have been suspended at all.
May's Panthers play Parramatta in the first qualifying final on Friday night after claiming the minor premiership during the regular season.
