Watson given suspended ban for referee rant

Rugby’s clampdown on abuse of match officials continued last night as Anthony Watson was reprimanded by a Rugby Football Union disciplinary panel for criticising a referee on social media.

The Bath and England full-back has received a suspended one-week ban and will need to deliver a presentation to his team-mates on the importance of respecting match officials and the use of social media.

Watson was charged with conduct prejudicial to the interest of the game after criticising referee Ian Tempest for sending off his teammate Mike Williams for a high tackle after 47 minutes in Bath’s Premiership defeat by Wasps on Oct 30. He tweeted: “Here we go again. Where is he supposed to wrap?! Obsurd (sic) decision.”

The 27-year-old accepted the charge and expressed remorse before an independent disciplinary panel, consisting of Gareth Graham (chairman) with Dr Julian Morris and Rob Vickerman, that took place last week. Watson did, however, provide context to his actions after he suffered a serious knee injury on Oct 17 that ruled him out of England’s autumn internationals squad.

“A week prior to this game I suffered a potentially season-ending knee injury, which alone is not the easiest thing to deal with,” Watson wrote in his submission. “When coupled with the fact that a mere two years ago I spent 13 months on the sideline watching my team and rehabilitating a double ruptured Achilles – can explain some level of the frustration I am feeling.

“This is further exacerbated when you analyse the poor start to the season my club has had, and the personal desperation for my club to win games and succeed. Whilst again, I will emphasise that none of this goes a way to explain my actions, I would like the context of my personal situation to be understood. Once again, I am deeply sorry for my actions, it is not something that will happen again.”

Watson also plans to apologise directly to Tempest now that the disciplinary process has concluded.