It was bound to happen eventually

[Teh Mite]

Castleford Tigers have been fined £40,000 by the Rugby Football League after fans shouted homophobic abuse at Crusaders' Gareth Thomas.

Thomas, 35, announced in December 2009 that he was gay.

"The RFL finds homosexual abuse unacceptable, which is reflected in the size of the fine," RFL spokesman John Ledger told BBC Sport.

Castleford chief executive Richard Wright said he was "shocked" by the decision, adding the club will appeal.

"The evidence does not support the decision and does not in any way support the scale of the penalty. We totally refute the outcome of the hearing," stated Wright, whose club have had half the fine suspended until the end of 2011.

Thomas, who has captained Wales and the British and Irish Lions rugby union sides, was subjected to the abuse during the Crusaders' visit to The Jungle in the Super League on March 26.

Castleford's legal advisor, Rod Findlay added: "The club condemns any person who makes or chants obscene remarks towards players or officials.

"But the charges against the club are not that there was chanting, they are that the club failed to take its best endeavours to prevent or stop any chanting.

Our sport is viewed by Stonewall as a model with the way it deals with issues around homosexuality

RFL spokesman John Ledger

"This the club refutes totally. The club has a well-established system for dealing with chanting and could not have done any more on the day."

Castleford will receive a full written judgement before the end of the week and have until 14 July to appeal.

The RFL has stressed that it has taken more steps than any other governing body to crack down on homophobia having joined forces with gay rights charity Stonewall.

"Our sport is viewed by Stonewall as a model with the way it deals with issues around homosexuality," stated Ledger.

"In March 2009 we signed the Stonewall Charter to show our commitment towards these issues. The RFL is the only national governing body to have joined the Stonewall diversity programme which raises awareness over diversity issues.

"All RFL staff undertake a mandatory equality and diversity training programme," he added.

 

[TRF_Cymro]

Apparently the chanting was debatable on how bad ... GT apparently says that he was hurt by what was said.

Also the Sun has a poke at an article: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3035036/40k-fine-over-fans-gay-jibes.html

 

[Saints1]

Cas should appeal this. The RFL are using a nuclear bomb to kill a mouse here. They need to prosecute individuals and not punish the club - every time I've been to Cas, and I've lost count, they are one of the nicest sets of fans in the sport, who have a minority of morons. £40k is a fortune for a club with no money.

 

[Teh Mite]

Who else are going to get punished though? The fans & their behavior are the responsibility of the club at the end of the day. If they misbehave in a manor that's not appropriate, they need to be taught that it's not acceptable.

The fans will never put their hands up and admit to being ********, so the only option is to punish their club.

Besides, Thomas should take it as a compliment. If these people are so thinks as to start shouting slurs at him, he must've been doing something right as to really **** the natives off! =

 

[TRF C A Iversen]

Cas should appeal this. The RFL are using a nuclear bomb to kill a mouse here. They need to prosecute individuals and not punish the club - every time I've been to Cas, and I've lost count, they are one of the nicest sets of fans in the sport, who have a minority of morons. £40k is a fortune for a club with no money.

I'm with this post. The club sound pretty adamant that they've done all they could. If you can't find a perp, it's no good sticking the charge to the nearest patsy.

 

[SelimNiai]

But by penalising the club it should send the message to the fans that if they say offensive things then its all who get the blame.

 

[TRF C A Iversen]

As we all know, prize dickheads learn their lesson after someone else picks up the tab.

 

[ORothlain]

Says Thomas,
"It wasn't very nice and I was pretty hurt by what I could hear.
"I'm only human and I can't deny I was hurt."
Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3035036/40k-fine-over-fans-gay-jibes.html#ixzz0sOQFCePr

What I add to this conversation is what else did you expect, Gareth? To expect that people involved in an overtly masculine sport wouldn't take pot shots at an openly homosexual player is what's ridiculous. I don't condone it, people should be way above that, but seriously, you thought that no one ever would taunt you? That's just silly. You're the only gay in the villiage, for crying out loud!
The club shouldn't have to pay for the remarks of some idiot fans in the crowd. It's not as if Castleford handed out banners with slanderous remarks concerning Gareth's sexual orientation for their supporters to wave about.

 

[Teh Mite]

All well and good saying that Cas are the unlucky victims, but if nobody is punished (and the said publicity isn't drawn because of it), where will it stop?

Will the Leeds fans grab Thomas by the ankles, tie him up to a pack of angry wippets and have a good old fashioned fag drag?... That wouldn't be the clubs fault either.


Someone in the crowd will know who caused the trouble. They will be ****** off about the fine also, then they'll sort out the guys who were doing the chanting. Then they won't make the chants again. These things always have ways of getting sorted out.

For once (and yes it's a rarity), the RFL are absolutely correct.

 

[TRF_Cymro]

Amazing really.

I think the amount involved in the fine is silly personally. RFL are setting the example just as the HEC did with the gouging ban with Atoub.

 

[Saints1]

I can understand both points of view here.

 

[Teh Mite]

Cas do something about it

Castleford have banned three fans from The Jungle after homophobic chanting was aimed at Crusaders' Gareth Thomas.
The Tigers are currently appealing a £40,000 fine handed to them by the Rugby Football League following the abuse at the game in March.
And after identifying three people involved, chief executive Richard Wright said further bans could follow.
"It is hoped that banning people who behave inappropriately will make anyone think twice in future," he said.
"We are determined to ensure The Jungle remains a great place to be for a family day out.
"During the Crusaders game there was evidence on the DVD of offensive chanting but it was not clear and did not last long.
"It took a while for spectators to work out what was chanted and most fans did not hear anything. As a result it was not possible to identify the perpetrators on the day.
"The people banned will have a right to appeal at the end of the season but in these cases there is a likelihood of the ban being extended.
"Chanting is part of the game and long may it be so but it should be positive and encouraging. Hopefully, home and away the fans will respond in the right manner.
"We also hope that respectable fans, who form the vast majority of the support base at The Jungle, will help us by reporting any obscene behaviour through the well-established mechanisms that we have put in place.
"The Tigers are one of the most robust in Super League at promoting an inclusive environment for all sections of the community and we pride ourselves on this fact."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_league/super_league/castleford/8806268.stm

 

[Saints1]

They should be chasing a chunk of the £40k off them as well!