Solomona banned for ‘homophobic’ abuse but is free to tour South Africa
Denny Solomona was last night found guilty of verbally abusing Jamie Shillcock, of Worcester Warriors, but the four-week ban means he is free to tour South Africa with England.
Although last night’s RFU statement did not state the nature of the abuse in last month’s game, it was widely reported that it was homophobic, with Shillcock heard complaining to referee Andrew Jackson after a scuffle with Solomona.
Last night a three-person independent panel found Solomona guilty of “conduct prejudicial to the interests of the union or the game”. Panel chair Samantha Hillas said: “The panel found that the player used language that was verbally abusive on more than one occasion in quick succession.
“The comments were offensive and have no place on the rugby field. However, the panel accepted that they were said in the heat of the moment rather than premeditated.
“For these reasons, the panel deemed it was a low-end entry point that carries a six-week suspension as a starting point. The player did not accept the charge but all other mitigating features were present. The panel therefore reduced the sanction to four weeks.”
Verbal abuse of an opponent about their religion, colour, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin carries a ban of between six and 18 weeks. But in January, Toulon centre Mathieu Bastareaud received only a three-week ban after calling an opponent a “f------ faggot”.
Solomona is free to resume playing on May 8 and can count himself doubly lucky still to be on England’s tour having been warned about his future conduct by coach Eddie Jones after being sent home in disgrace from a training camp after going out drinking with Manu Tuilagi.
Meanwhile, Israel Folau, the Australia full-back, has been summoned to meet Rugby Australia bosses to explain his post on social media this week that the gay community should be sent to “hell”.
A devout Christian, Folau was replying to a question on one of his Instagram posts.
Meanwhile, World Rugby has ordered an emergency review into the European qualification process for the 2019 World Cup having initially wanted a replay of Spain’s controversial loss to Belgium. Spain’s 18-10 defeat allowed Romania to grab the automatic qualifying spot.
However, the match was refereed by Vlad Iordachescu, a Romanian, despite objections by the Spanish Rugby Union prior to the match. Spain have since lodged a formal complaint to Rugby Europe and World Rugby, who yesterday said that he was “not neutral in the context of qualification”.