"The Newcastle Knights have requested a copy of the footage from the NRL's match review committee and have until midday tomorrow to decide if any further action will be taken," a Knights statement said.
But the club may find itself as shocked as match review committee chairman Greg McCallum who, when it was suggested that some might find the grade three charge harsh, responded: "Probably most people haven't seen the video."
McCallum said Johns' column in the Sunday Telegraph, in which he said he would not apologise for the incident, was not considered as evidence.
He said the game's image had been considered by the committee, which graded Johns' charge lower than those handed out to Melbourne's Scott Hill and Parramatta's Jeremy Smith for manhandling referees earlier this season.
"I think that the response to that's reflected in the charge, the fact that a player's been charged at that level I think it's reasonable to suggest that that's been taken into account," McCallum said.
Johns' charge arose out of a 79th minute incident during Friday's 16-14 loss in which he is alleged to have called Cechin a "f...ing c..t".
