Lord Tony Smith wrote:
Sometimes it helps to read the room.
I would prefer the court room decide as il this case, this Judge made his decision.
In reaching its decision the tribunal, chaired by His Honour Judge Guy Kearl QC, considered submissions from both players and clubs, the match official’s report, broadcast footage and character references.
We have considered the evidence of both players and the circumstances surrounding the allegation and find that we are reasonably satisfied, taking into account the seriousness of the charge, that the words were said, albeit in the heat of the moment, but nevertheless were said.
“They do constitute unacceptable language based on [a player’s] racial and ethnic origin and therefore we find that this was serious misconduct which has brought the game into disrepute.
“On the other hand we have considered the character references placed before us by Wigan Warriors from those who know [Tony Clubb] well at the club. We do not find that he is a racist, simply that on this occasion he used unacceptable language in the heat of the moment.
