Nigel Owens says the man who complained needs to be applauded. England’s Rugby Football Union is investigating homophobic and racist abuse of gay Welsh referee Nigel Owens from English fans at Sunday’s test against the All Blacks at Twickenham. It says it takes discrimination and crowd control extremely seriously and will investigate the complaint. “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,” it says in a statement. A South Yorkshire man, Keith Wilson, wrote to The Guardian expressing his disgust and disbelief at what he heard in the crowd. “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,” he wrote. Nigel Owens himself has 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.”
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Friday, 14th November 2014 - 7:45am