Bradford call on Leeds to give back points after Ganson's Cardiff horror show

Ganson today went public to admit he blundered in failing to consult video referee Ashley Klein over the last-second try from Leeds substitute Jordan Tansey and apologised to the Bulls for his mistake.

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The decision caused a furore, with Bulls coach Steve McNamara claiming his side were "cheated" of victory and tonight Bradford chairman Peter Hood stepped into the row by calling on their arch rivals to voluntarily give them the points.

In a statement, Hood said: "I want to take this opportunity to publicly place on record my sincere appreciation to Leeds Rhinos chief executive Gary Hetherington for his kind words of consolation in the immediate aftermath of the game and for his honesty in recognising the injustice.

"I also thank the Leeds head coach Tony Smith for his honest comments reported in the media.

"The Leeds Rhinos club is justifiably a proud club, with a great tradition, and a club which above all values its reputation for right and fair-dealing in everything it does.

"For these reasons I shall be inviting the Leeds Rhinos to do the right thing again now, for the benefit of their own reputation certainly, but also for the good of the great game of rugby league, to voluntarily hand over to Bradford Bulls what is, as the whole game now acknowledges, rightfully ours - the two points so cruelly taken from us by Mr Ganson's failure to act."

Slow-motion replays indicated that Tansey was clearly offside as he chased captain Kevin Sinfield's penalty kick at goal which rebounded off a post.

Ganson had earlier called on Klein eight times to rule on the legitimacy of tries and Bradford players were incensed when he gave Tansey's try right on the hooter.

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It gave Leeds a 42-38 victory that took them to the top of the engage Super League at the expense of their arch rivals.

Ganson, one of the Rugby League's most experienced officials who was flown to Brisbane for the recent Anzac Test, declined to comment after the match but today took the unprecedented step of owning up to his mistake.

"After reviewing the video footage from the game it is clear that I made the wrong decision in awarding Jordan Tansey's try," he said. "In hindsight, I wish I had referred the decision to the video referee.

"At the time, my focus was on ensuring that the Bradford Bulls players were not putting off the kicker, rather than ensuring all the Leeds Rhinos players were onside.

"I didn't refer the decision to the video referee as both touch judges, who were stood behind the posts awaiting the conversion, had a good view of the grounding and I didn't feel the need to check for offside as it's very rare that players from the attacking side are in front of the kicker.

"However, the video footage shows that I was wrong not to do so as a number of Leeds players were offside.

"I would now like to offer an unreserved apology to all those concerned, especially the players, officials and supporters of the Bradford Bulls."

If the League hoped Ganson's apology would diffuse the row, they were sadly mistaken with Bradford still furious over the original penalty, which they argue should not have been awarded.

Hood said: "Whilst Mr Ganson's apology is fine as far as it goes, and gratefully acknowledged, sadly he omits any mention of why the 'penalty' was awarded in the first place and importantly - by whom?

"As has been widely reported in today's newspapers, there was no infringement by a Bradford player - this is clearly confirmed by the video evidence.

"Sadly, there is no mention either of what role, if any, video referee Ashley Klein played in 'assisting' Mr Ganson not to go to the screen.

"Later in the week, therefore, we shall be demanding an answer to these and maybe other questions - such as the no small matter of Mr Klein's other contributions to the outcome of game - from RFL match officials director Stuart Cummings."

The saga could take another twist if McNamara finds himself in hot water for comments he made in the aftermath of the controversial finish.

The League are expected to study his comments tomorrow and decide whether he is to be charged with bringing the game into disrepute.

At the post-match press conference, McNamara said of Ganson: "He invented a penalty at the end. He made a penalty up to try and help give Leeds a draw.

When asked directly whether he was accusing Ganson of cheating, the Bulls coach said: "You said the word, I've not used it. But what other reason is there to do what he's done out there? I think our team's been cheated but I'm not using the word directly about anybody there."

Hood made it clear that McNamara retains the full support of the club and that the League will have a fight on their hands if they decide to take action.

"I wish to place on record that the board of Bradford Bulls stands shoulder-to-shoulder with head coach Steve McNamara in relation to his comments to the media after the game," he added.

"In the unique circumstances of this game, his candour was both understandable and forgivable."

Not surprisingly, Leeds have given short shrift to Bradford's demands.

Rhinos chief executive Hetherington said: "It's an unusual request to be asked to consider.

"The Bulls will have another chance for two points on June 29th when the two teams meet at Carnegie Headingley."