Penrith have been whacked with a $50,000 fine and had a trainer suspended for five matches after the NRL club official ran in front of Gold Coast star Jayden Campbell before he missed a crucial conversion on Sunday.

The apologetic Panthers remain “adamant” that the incident was an accident, with absolutely no intent or malice late in the Panthers’ 30-26 win, but have accepted the penalties regardless.

In a statement on Monday, the NRL said: “The NRL has issued Penrith Panthers with a breach notice relating to the actions of a club trainer in Round 22.

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“The breach notice proposes a fine of $50,000 for the club, as well as a five-match suspension for the trainer involved.

“It is alleged the trainer unnecessarily interfered with and distracted Gold Coast Titans player Jayden Campbell as he was attempting a conversion kick, in breach of the NRL operations manual and NRL code of conduct.

“The proposed penalty takes into account previous breaches by Penrith Panthers trainers.

“The NRL rules permitting club trainers onto the field will be monitored and strictly enforced by the NRL.

“The club will have five days to respond to the breach notice.”

Responding swiftly later on Monday, the Panthers insisted it was an “honest mistake”.

“The club is adamant that the actions of the trainer were an honest mistake and there was no intent to breach the rules or gain an advantage. The trainer immediately apologised upon realising the error,” a club statement reads.

“The circumstances involved a late change and in-the-moment confusion, but we understand that does not excuse the outcome.

“The club will not make any further comment on the matter at this time.”

There is a precedent for trainers to be suspended from matches, including Penrith’s Shane Elford and North Queensland’s Mitchell Dunn for squirting water on a ball earlier this year.

After Gold Coast had scored to go ahead 26-24 with five minutes remaining, Panthers trainer Corey Bocking ran directly in front of Campbell after the Titans half had lined up his kick.

That prompted Campbell to have to go through his routine again, before missing the shot from the sideline that would have put the Titans four points up.

Nathan Cleary then nailed a superb two-point field goal to send the match to golden point for Penrith, before the Panthers won it with a Blaize Talagi try.

“Did it cost us the game? I don’t know,” Titans coach Des Hasler said of the trainer’s actions.

“He will get breached. That’s the only thing that’s going to come out of it.”

Penrith insisted afterwards the matter had been a mix-up, caused by confusion over an interchange.

That prompted the Panthers to call Bocking back to their bench to change which player was coming off the field, leading to him running in front of Campbell.

“He was in the wrong place at the wrong time. We had a sub and I changed it at the last minute,” Penrith coach Ivan Cleary said.

“He was trying to communicate with the bench for a late change. There’s a lot of stuff going on.

“That’s why there was a bit of confusion. It was an honest mistake. He apologised straight away.

“I’m happy to say we’ve apologised. It’s not something anyone set out to do.”

- With AAP