England's Joe Marler was given a two-game ban and fined £20,000 (US$28,315) by a World Rugby misconduct hearing on Tuesday for calling Wales prop Samson Lee a "gypsy boy", the global governing body said.
England's prop Joe Marler (C) clashes with Wales' prop Samson Lee (3rd
R) during the Six Nations international rugby union match on Mar 12,
2016. (AFP/Ben Stansall)
LONDON: England's Joe Marler was given a two-game ban and
fined £20,000 (US$28,315) by a World Rugby misconduct hearing on Tuesday
(Apr 5) for calling Wales prop Samson Lee a "gypsy boy", the global
governing body said.
Harlequins front-row forward Marler was reprimanded by
England coach Eddie Jones for his comment to Lee, who is from a
traveller community background, during a 25-21 Six Nations win over
Wales at Twickenham last month.
However, Six Nations officials took no disciplinary action
against 25-year-old prop Marler, who apologised to Lee during the match,
for a remark they said had been in the made of the "heat of the
moment".
That prompted a social media outcry and saw World Rugby
exercise its authority as the global governing body by stepping in to
initiate their own disciplinary action.
"Joe Marler has been suspended for two matches and fined
£20,000 to be paid to a suitable equality charity in the UK after an
independent judicial committee upheld a misconduct charge against the
player at a hearing in London today (Tuesday)," said a World Rugby
statement.
It added that the 42-times capped Marler would be free to
resume playing on Apr 18. He will now miss Harlequins' European
Challenge Cup quarter-final against London Irish on Saturday and their
English Premiership fixture against league leaders Saracens in a London
derby at Wembley the following week.
Marler's comments became public knowledge because he was speaking near a miked-up referee.
The World Rugby hearing, which analysed the broadcast feed,
ruled that Marler had used "unsporting and discriminatory language"
towards Lee and that he had "brought the game into disrepute".
But it also said Marler was "proactive" in apologising to
Lee at half-time and that he was a "person of good character", with no
similar misconduct charges behind him.
NO APPEAL
England's governing Rugby Football Union responded to
Tuesday's hearing by saying there would be no appeal against the
verdict. "The decision will not be appealed, and we now consider the
matter closed," said an RFU spokesman.
Marler said on Monday he would accept whatever punishment
was imposed by the three-man panel of Australia's Terry Willis
(chairman), France's Jean-Noël Couraud (France) and Canada's Alan
Hudson.
"I'm not a racist," Marler tweeted on Monday. "What I said
to Samson was out of order and wrong and I am sorry it was said, we
shook hands at the end of the game and looked to move on. Whatever
happens to me tomorrow I will accept."
With the Six Nations not acting against Marler either for
his comments to Lee or the striking of Wales's Rob Evans, the Quins star
was able to take part in a 31-21 win away to France in Paris the
following week that saw England complete a Six Nations Grand Slam.
Amid all the criticism of Marler and the Six Nations,
Harlequins coach Conor O'Shea came to the prop's defence by saying his
player had been on the receiving end of verbal abuse too during the
Wales match.
"Posh, English and a four-letter word seems to be fine one way but not the other," said former Ireland full-back O'Shea.
But the Welsh Rugby Union voiced concerns that Marler had escaped punishment for what they regarded as a racist remark.
- AFP/de
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