Will misdemeanours from the past come back to haunt Marler?
JOE Marler’s case will be heard by a disciplinary panel in Dublin today after he was accused of grabbing the penis of Wales captain Alun Wyn Jones during last Saturday’s clash at Twickenham.
The 71-times capped prop, 28, has been charged with infringing rugby union’s laws on sportsmanship, for allegedly “twisting or squeezing genitals”.
According to World Rugby’s rules, the low-end entry point if found guilty of the offence is a 12-week ban with a maximum sentence of up to four years.
But Marler’s chequered past may well be considered by the panel, and it does not make for pretty reading.
Harlequins star Marler has only been sent off once during his senior playing career, but he has regularly been in the headlines for the wrong reasons.
March 2016: “Gypsy boy” comment
WALES had lost 25-21 to England at Twickenham, but that result was soon to be overshadowed by a headline-grabbing story which was to dominate the news agenda for weeks (sound familiar?)
The notorious incident occurred as a scuffle broke out during the Six Nations clash.
Wales prop Samson Lee was surrounded by white shirts before his opposite number Marler strode over and called him “Gyspy boy”, his words clearly being heard on the audio.
Lee, who has spoken about his traveller heritage in the past, was clearly upset at the comment and, after the game, the WRU issued a statement expressing their disappointment.
Marler apologised to the Scarlets tight-head at half-time and initially escaped any punishment, with the Six Nations deciding not to take any action against him other than a verbal reprimand.
But, as the storm grew, World Rugby overturned that ruling and ordered an independent disciplinary hearing.
On the eve of that hearing, Harlequins loosehead Marler reiterated that he was sorry for what he had said, insisting he that was not a racist.
He was banned for two matches and fined £20,000 for breaching regulations by using unsporting and discriminatory language.
April 2016: Kicks opponent in the head
HE picked up another two-week ban following an incident in his comeback match, for kicking Grenoble hooker Arnaud Heguy in the head during a European Challenge Cup semi-final.
He was immediately cited under Law 10.4 (c) for kicking an opponent.
June 2016: “W **** r” insult
MARLER withdrew from England’s tour of Australia that summer, but couldn’t stay out of the limelight.
The prop received a formal warning from the Rugby Football Union for breaking its code of conduct after calling the Wallabies’ 1991 World Cup winning coach Bob Dwyer a “w **** r” on Twitter during a row over legality of the scrummaging technique of Dan Cole.
An RFU statement said: “Marler is extremely apologetic for the comment that was made and deleted it within a few minutes of it being posted on Twitter.
“The warning will be retained on Marler’s disciplinary record for a period of five years and may be relied upon in any future disciplinary proceedings.”
September 2017: Ugly tussle with England team-mate
MARLER managed to stay out of trouble until September 2017, when he was reprimanded by the match citing commissioner for actions contrary to good sportsmanship which had seen him squirt water at and pull the scrum cap of James Haskell during an English Premiership match with Wasps.
Wasps coach Dai Young accused the England star of goading Haskell into a yellow card (sound familiar again?).
Haskell claimed Marler had choked him with the strap of his scrum cap, before squirting him in the face with water.
The incident was again put on his disciplinary record for five years.
October 2017: Elbow strike
MARLER was banned for three weeks in October 2017, ruling him out of the autumn internationals, after striking now Wales lock Will Rowlands with an elbow in a European Champions Cup clash – again against Wasps – the following month.
Marler’s actions were deemed to be of a mid-range level, which has an entry point of four weeks, but due to his guilty plea and a genuine show of
remorse, a week was taken off the suspension.
January 2018: Shoulder charge
HE followed the elbow punt up by copping a six-week suspension in January 2018, putting him out of England’s Six Nations matches with Italy and Wales, after being sent off for a shoulder charge.
The loosehead prop was sent off for striking TJ Ioane with the shoulder as Harlequins lost 30-29 to the Sharks at the AJ Bell Stadium in Salford.
Philip Evans, the chairman of the citing panel, said: “The panel found that contact was made with the head of TJ Ioane and, as a result, the mandatory entry point is midrange.
“The panel considered that the player’s previous record was such that it required an additional period of suspension of one week, however because of his plea, his conduct since the incident took place and other personal mitigation, the panel allowed some reduction.”
March 2020: Penis grab
BRIAN Moore is the latest former player to blast Marler and has called on Six Nations chiefs to slap a ‘halfway house’ six-week ban on Joe Marler following the seventh high-profile incident of the England forward’s chequered career.
Ex-Lions and England hooker Moore tackled Marler’s latest indiscretion, against his 2017 Lions teammate Jones, during his Daily Telegraph Full Contact podcast.
“What on earth was he doing?” said a bemused Moore. “People are saying it was a grab, it wasn’t. I have been grabbed by the testicles and it hurts. It’s not a laugh, and that’s what that law is designed to prevent.”
Moore, a former solicitor, said he believes Marler is guilty of a half-way house offence when it comes to interpretation of the offence, the intent and the length of a possible ban.
“He was trying to wind him up and Alun Wyn Jones didn’t react. It’s like the difference between a gouge and a contact in the eye area. This is contact in the groin area without going all the way,” maintained Moore.
“People have been saying you know this is sexual assault and in some respects, had it been done off the field, yes it definitely would be.
“If you punch someone on the field, which is your place of work, you get a sanction but you don’t get your contract terminated and fired.
“People have got to also remember that and the law is quite clear on this; there are things that are allowed on the sporting field that, if they had happened in the general populace, would be criminal offences.
“It’s unacceptable so he [Marler] has got to get banned. To me, because it doesn’t fall exactly in the category wording, it should be half the minimum, which would be six weeks instead of 12.”