But yes, he got the decision correct, every day of the week. It was a loose carry, not a strip. Fifita lost the ball forward, under minimal contact from Elliott Whitehead.
The botched try ruined a fairytale, but that's sport.
An understandably distraught Tongan fan's petition claimed: "To referees, it is just another day of work, but for the Tongan players, it is heart, soul and their world."
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The passion around the Tongan campaign, the stadium scenes this has created, has been stunning. Their Hamilton fightback victory over the Kiwis will live long in the memory.
But it has descended, tragically, into yet more of the ref-bashing which has become a sad, weekly occurrence in professional sport.
Referees put an enormous amount of effort and work into their careers. Yet when do fans, coaches, players ever praise them? When are they ever thankful for decisions that do go their way? When do they praise a brilliant refereeing performance? When do they ever sympathise with opponents who are hit by blatantly wrong decisions?
The Tongan petition is just another example of the biased rot that goes on regarding referees, a sad history which includes New Zealand's pathetic tirade against a whistler after France's fabulous 2007 World Cup quarter-final rugby victory.
Had the All Blacks defended the way France did that day, they would have been hailed as heroes. Turn the tables, and a ref did us in. It is disgraceful. These constant ref-attacks are creating a soulless and fake world in sport, based around disingenuous analysis designed to protect careers and make excuses for losses.
Tonga, not the ref, blew it at Mt Smart Stadium because of glaring mistakes by players such as Michael Jennings, Daniel Tupou and Fifita. England dealt with an opposition cauldron, and won. Fair and square.
Saturday night's match was a stunner, and maybe the highlight of the football season. It was a game of two parts: the first included Tonga losing composure under the semifinal pressure; the second brought a thrilling Tongan fightback in the final minutes. But the comeback fell short.
That's football. Enjoy the game for what it was, and look forward to what Tonga and other Pacific Island nations might bring to rugby league. Quite frankly, the reaction has actually tarnished the memory for me.
It doesn't have to be that way, and the Kangaroos provided one of the great examples of how to react after a whopper forward pass enabled the Kiwis to beat them in the 2010 Four Nations final. Australian players took it on the chin, allowed the Kiwis to enjoy the victory.
As for England league, the phrase "heart, soul their world" applies perfectly to those who love the game in its little patch. You wouldn't meet warmer and more passionate sports fans anywhere in the world.
Their supporters have endured lean times. Indeed, it is 45 years since Great Britain were world champions and England last appeared in a World Cup final when they hosted the 1995 event.
That tournament included one of the greatest tests ever played, when Tonga almost upset the Kiwis when the underdogs were hurt by a late, incorrect tackle count.
The support for Tonga from the Warrington crowd that night was amazing, as the
Wilderspool Stadium crowd tried to roar Tonga home. Time for some similar respect.
It should be a fantastic final on Saturday night, although Kangaroos captain Smith's remarkable control and analysis from dummy half will be too much for them.
