Salford star banned
CARNEY MISSES 8 GAMES FOR RACIAL ABUSE
SALFORD winger Justin Carney has been banned for eight matches after admitting racially abusing an opponent.
The Australian winger was sentenced following a four-hour hearing at the RFL’s Red Hall headquarters for an incident in the Red Devils’ Challenge Cup victory over Toronto Wolfpack last month. He has also been fined £300.
Carney pleaded guilty to the offence, but appealed the severity of the Grade F charge. Under the RFL’s guidelines, the potential penalty ranged from eight games to a timebased suspension – such as the sixmonth ban imposed on Wigan’s Ben Flower for an incident with St Helens scrum half Lance Hohaia during the 2014 Grand Final at Old Trafford.
A Salford spokesperson said: “Whilst Justin has admitted using the offending words in an abusive manner, he did not intend his words to be taken in a ‘racial’ context.
“Justin is an indigenous Australian and is proud of his Aboriginal heritage. He stands firm on the position that he is not, nor has he ever been, a racist.
“He is grateful that, having received several letters of support from within the RFL community both here and in Australia, the Tribunal today has accepted that he is not a racist.”
The hearing was scheduled to take place last week, but Salford requested it be put back seven days in order to sufficiently prepare their case. The club voluntarily stood Carney down for the visit of Widnes Vikings on Sunday and that match will count towards the suspension, meaning he will miss a further seven games.
Despite his guilty plea, Carney does have the option to appeal the verdict and the Red Devils say the player will – pending a potential appeal – be subject to an internal investigation.
Meanwhile, Wigan could be without as many as 15 first team players when they host Salford at the DW Stadium on Friday night.
The Warriors saw Ben Flower, Anthony Gelling and George Williams all pick up what appeared to be serious injuries in the 52-4 defeat to Castleford Tigers on Saturday.
The trio look set for prolonged spells on the sidelines, with Williams and Gelling prevented from taking part in next week’s internationals. They had been called up by England and the Cook Islands respectively. The champions had gone into the match against the league leaders with an already lengthy injury list and Ryan Sutton, Morgan Escare and Michael McIlorum will all require late fitness tests prior to the Red Devils clash.