Irish rugby league star claims rival 'grabbed my balls' during World Cup match

Irish rugby league star James Bentley has appeared to accuse an opposition player of grabbing his balls in attempted foul play.

The incident happened during a fiery Rugby League World Cup match between Ireland and Lebanon.

Tempers flared throughout the matchup, however, one altercation, in particular, could’ve landed a Lebanese player in a lot of trouble.

Bentley was tackled by Kayne Kalache and Andrew Kazzie in the ninth minute of the first half.

The Irishman emerged from the tackle in pain and repeatedly complaining to referee Adam Gee.

Bentley said: “He grabbed my balls.”

He appeared to shout the same sentiment over and over again at the official, accusing the opposition players of foul play.

It was unclear who exactly he was accusing, however, replays of the incident show that Bentley may have very well been tempered with below the belt.

Kalache had tackled low while Kazzi had gone high.

Whether the alleged ball grab was intentional or not was unclear.

One commentator said at the time: “He’s not too pleased is he, he’s been in a couple of collisions hasn’t he. He got Mitchell Moses with a great shot, didn’t he, defensively.

“He’s complaining of something to the referee, maybe the referee is going to put this on report and have a little look at it or maybe Ashley Klein the video referee can help out.”

Another added: “He took a little contact in an uncomfortable place, shall we put it that way.

“He’s certainly not happy about it and understandably not happy about it.”

Gee stopped the game to review the situation, but no player was placed on report and after a short break in the play the match continued.

It was a matchup that was full of bad blood

Referee Adam Gee sent Ireland prop Robbie Mulhern and Lebanon lock Jalal Bazzaz to the sin-bin after a fight broke out between them after the halftime siren.

Meanwhile, fullback Jacob Kiraz suffered a concussion during the matchup whilst prop Kayne Kalache was sent to hospital after a high tackle from Ireland’s Jaimin Jolliffe.

While passions frequently boiled over, Mitchell Moses was able to steer the Lebanese side to a 32-12 win over Ireland.

The win keeps their World Cup dream alive with Ireland heading toward a tough final group match against New Zealand.