Two fans have been banned from attending any rugby matches at Twickenham for two years for their homophobic abuse of gay referee Nigel Owens at a test between England and the All Blacks. England's Rugby Football Union says the two people have also been asked to pay £1,000 (NZ$1,950) to the charity of Owens’ choice. Their behaviour at the November 8 test was called out by an English fan who wrote to The Guardian in disgust at the “nasty, foul-mouthed, racist, homophobic abuse” he heard. “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,” Keith Wilson, from Loversall in South Yorkshire wrote about his experience at Twickenham. RFU Chief Executive Ian Ritchie says "while instances of this nature are exceptionally rare, the RFU takes rugby's values of teamwork, respect, enjoyment, discipline and sportsmanship very seriously."
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Saturday, 29th November 2014 - 12:05pm