Manly coach Des Hasler will not be punished by the NRL for comments he made about referee Russell Smith after the Sea Eagles' 24-18 loss to Wests Tigers at Leichhardt Oval on Sunday.

Hasler questioned whether Englishman Smith knew the rules after a contentious penalty against winger Paul Stephenson while he was in possession.

"I'm not sure the referee knows the rules and that went both ways for both sides," Hasler said.

But NRL chief operating officer Graham Annesley said Hasler's comments had not crossed the line of questioning the referee's integrity or being derogatory.

"We reviewed the video tape and based on the actual comments and the context in which they were said we have decided to take no action on this occasion," Annesley said.

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