English RFU investigates alleged homophobic abuse

Alleged homophobic and racist abuse by England supporters towards the referee, Nigel Owens, during the defeat by New Zealand is to be investigated by the English RFU following complaints made after the match at Twickenham.

Owens, who is Welsh and gay, was the subject of derogatory comments by England fans during the game, according to another supporter who wrote to the Guardian. The RFU says it takes discrimination and crowd control extremely seriously and will investigate the complaint.

A statement from the governing body read: “The RFU condemns all forms of discrimination and aims to ensure that all people, irrespective of their age, gender, ability, race, religion, ethnic origin, creed, colour, nationality, social status or sexual orientation, have a genuine and equal opportunity to enjoy rugby union in whatever form, on or off the pitch, at all levels and in all roles. We take any allegations of any abuse very seriously and are investigating this matter.”

Keith Wilson from South Yorkshire, a member of the crowd in England's 21-24 defeat, wrote: "As a lifelong rugby fan, a straight man in his 60s, I could not believe that a bunch of men half my age watching a rugby match in the 21st century could be capable of hurling such nasty, foul-mouthed, racist, homophobic abuse at an openly gay match official. My equally disgusted son is in 30s but next to him, hearing this vitriol, was a little boy; I felt ashamed.

“I did speak to the men after the match but they were not in a fit state to engage in sensible discussion. I suspect that if it had been in a football match they’d have been thrown out. There was a time when you could trust rugby supporters to take alcohol into a game and behave like grown-ups. The time has come to treat rugby louts like football louts - no alcohol in the ground, zero tolerance to bigots.”

The RFU points to the LED system it uses during internationals at Twickenham to “promote the core values of rugby”, sending messages to supporters such as to ask them to respect the kicker. The organisation deploys 800 stewards for Tests at Twickenham but no spectator was ejected during the fixture against the All Blacks, which had an attendance of more than 82,000.

However, on Wednesday the organisation did launch an investigation into the matter.

Owens told Wales Online: “The guy who sent the letter into the Guardian needs to be applauded really. People like him are the ones who can help to eradicate this sort of thing from rugby.

“I think there’s no doubt there are certain sections of rugby crowds which are changing. You can sense the change in attitude and maybe there is an argument to say it is becoming more like football. It is still a minority but it is there. We can’t let rugby go down that route. Our game is based on respect for the officials, the players and everyone involved.”