Warriors fans who threw projectiles at NRL referee Ashley Klein avoid detection, for now

Officials have not been able to positively identify the spectators who threw projectiles at NRL referee Ashley Klein and his assistants after the Warriors were knocked out of the NRL finals.Auckland's Eden Park hosted the NRL semi-final between the Warriors and the Newcastle Knights in front of a record home crowd of 48,511 two weeks ago.The Warriors lost 12-10, and Klein and his officials were jeered off the field after two contentious late decisions went against the home side.Bottles, cans and rubbish were thrown from the crowd towards the officials as they headed into the tunnel after the final whistle.Those actions drew the disgust of Warriors legend Shaun Johnson in TV commentary, who told Sky Sport "It leaves a bit of a sour taste in your mouth, after what's been an unbelievable night … there's just no need for it. It's just embarrassing."An investigation was launched by the NRL into potential breaches of its Spectator Code of Conduct, with AAP reporting an Integrity Unit investigator had been at the ground."Anyone found breaching the required standards can expect to be subject to significant sanctions, including being banned from venues," an NRL spokesman said in a statement."If found guilty, they will be banned for a period of time from attending NRL games," ARL Commission chairman Peter V'landys told AAP at the time.But Eden Park chief executive Nick Sautner said while there was footage and photos of perpetrators, they were unable to ascertain their identities."The photos have been retained and they've been provided to the NRL and are kept on file here so in future if we're able to identify those individuals at events, then the relevant process will be undertaken."Sautner said it was difficult to verify who the spectators were because they had left their allocated seats when they were throwing objects."They've come from a different area within the stadium, so they weren't seated in the area from where they threw the projectiles," Sautner said.The NRL have been approached for comment but did not respond.The game was the first NRL match the Warriors had hosted at the country's biggest stadium since 2014.