RUGBY:Northampton are taking disciplinary action against their South African hooker Brett Sharman after he posted a derogatory message about the double Olympic gold medallist Mo Farah on his Twitter page.

Farah, who was born in Somalia and moved to Britain when he was eight, won the 10,000m and 5,000m races in the Olympic Stadium and became a nationally celebrated figure. Sharman, who joined Northampton at the end of 2008 and is the understudy at the club to the New Zealand-born England hooker Dylan Hartley, used his Twitter account to write on August 11th, when Farah won the second of his gold medals: “Good luck Mohammed running for Paki ... I mean Great Britain.” Sharman issued an apology the following day and has since closed his account. Ironically, given his comments about Farah, he is qualified to play for England despite being born in South Africa. The Saints director of rugby, Jim Mallinder, said, after signing the hooker, who holds a British passport, that Sharman’s ambition was to represent England.

Guardian Service