Tongan fans began marching up Queen St in central Auckland around 6pm on Sunday.

Tongan league fans are protesting in central Auckland against what they say was "disgraceful biased refereeing" in the world cup semifinal.

Several hundred people began marching up Queen St around 6pm on Sunday, escorted by police as they chanted and waved Tongan flags.

In addition to the march, cars and motorcycles displaying Tongan flags looped around city blocks tooting their horns repeatedly.

SCREENSHOT Tongan fans believe England's victory in the Rugby League World Cup semifinal was a "stolen win".

More than 2000 people previously said they would be attending, according to a Facebook event page called "Protest for Mate Ma'a Tonga to Get a Review".

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"We have decided to lodge a protest," the event description said.

"We will be starting the march at the wharf going to Aotea Square and finishing off at the Grand Mercure Hotel.

"Wear all red, bring your Tongan flags and let's create history one last time."

GETTY IMAGES Andrew Fifita of Tonga reacts after his try attempt in the final seconds of the match was disallowed.

Their anger stems from what they believe was a controversial call by the referee in the semifinal in Auckland on Saturday.

Tonga went down to England 18-20 in a nail-biting match, and fans believe their team was cheated of victory.

GETTY IMAGES Rugby League World Cup referees boss Tony Archer said referee Matt Cecchin made the right call.

With seconds on the clock, Tongan player Andrew Fifita lost control of the ball amid a tackle from England's Elliott Whitehead, before regaining it and rolling over the tryline.

Fifita's try attempt was disallowed, dashing Tonga's hopes of staging a late comeback and going through to the final.

Passionate Mate Ma’a #Tonga fans marching in Auckland in protest at the decision to not to review last night’s try. 🇹🇴 #RugbyLeagueWorldCup pic.twitter.com/X4zWFWpx8P — Michael Morrah (@MichaelMorrah) November 26, 2017

Tongan fans reacted with anger, claiming England's victory was a "stolen win".

As at Sunday evening, more than 48,000 people had signed a change.org petition started by Vai'Ana Ta'ai calling for a review of the referee's call.

"To referees, it is just another day of work, but for the Tongan players, it is heart, soul and their world," Ta'ai wrote.

"The game was not a fair one, in fact, England knew they had not won.

"Referees need to be held accountable for their choices, and there needs to be a legal process to ensure games are scored with fairness and integrity - like the old days."

The #tonga fans were the stars of #RLWC2017 shame the #protest for #notry #badcall is now overshadowing the good vibe and achievements of #MateMaaTonga #MMT not the first or last time a ref made a unpopular call. — James McClurg (@jimimac_alf) November 26, 2017

Tonga coach Kristian Woolf said he was dumbfounded referee Matt Cecchin did not refer the passage of play to the video referee, but Rugby League World Cup referees boss Tony Archer said Cecchin had made the right call.

"It's a loose carry, knock on, the referee called it on field," Archer said.

Archer added there was nothing to suggest Whitehead had attempted to steal the ball from Fifita.

Whitehead's hand momentarily touched the ball during the tackle, however Archer said that did not make it a strip.

"There needs to be a deliberate intention to steal the ball, he's affecting the tackle as his arm slides down the attacker's arm," he said.

Archer said even if the decision had been referred to a video referee, it would not have changed the outcome of the match.

"It would have been a no-try because the decision was correct."