Rugby league star Gareth Thomas
Rugby league's governing body the RFL have fined Castleford Tigers £40,000 after their fans directed homophobic abuse at gay Crusaders player Gareth Thomas.
From The Times
Despite its northern machismo, no sport has worked harder than rugby league to eradicate homophobia and promote gay rights.
It partly explains the hefty £40,000 fine imposed on Castleford Tigers for failing to root out supporters who directed abuse at Gareth Thomas, the openly gay former Wales rugby union captain.
During Thomas’s second game for Crusaders in March, he was subjected to chanting from a section of the Castleford crowd.
The Tigers, signatories to an anti-homophobia charter as part of the Rugby Football League’s (RFL) two-year campaign with Stonewall, the gay rights group, failed to challenge the abuse or identify the perpetrators, according to an inquiry.
Damning
In a damning verdict, Judge Rodney Grant, the inquiry chairman, found that the club also failed to undertake any meaningful investigation.
Castleford were found guilty of unacceptable behaviour, breaching the RFL’s Respect Policy, misconduct by supporters and conduct prejudicial to the sport’s interests. They were ordered to pay £20,000 immediately, with a further £20,000 suspended until 2011.
Emanuele Palladino, Thomas’s manager, said: “It’s not about the fine, rather recognition that this behaviour from a small section of the Castleford fans is not acceptable in 2010. We’re delighted that the RFL has taken action against a serious incident.”
It is the only negative crowd reaction Thomas has experienced since coming out in December. He said in a recent interview: “I was warming up and somebody shouted, ‘Thomas, you’re gay’ and I felt like turning around and saying, ‘I know, I told the Daily Mail. Everybody in the UK knows that.’
'Hurt'
“They started singing [obscene things about me] and I’m not going to lie and say it didn’t hurt, but how sad is that? They couldn’t confront me. They stood in their thousands at the back of the crowd but would probably say nothing if I walked past them in the street. That makes me feel stronger.”
Castleford, shocked at the verdict, complained that they could not have done more on the day and are likely to appeal. The findings also mean that they must forfeit a further £20,000 from a £40,000 fine last year, imposed after bottles were thrown on to the pitch and match officials threatened after a match with Catalans Dragons.
“To say we’re disappointed and shocked is an understatement,” Richard Wright, the club’s chief executive, said. “The evidence doesn’t support the decision and doesn’t in any way support the scale of the penalty. We totally refute the outcome of the hearing.”
The fine is a significant blow to a club with scant resources. Since the Thomas incident, a pre-recorded warning about crowd abuse is regularly played at The Jungle.
From The Times
