Rugby chief tells Burrell: Moves have started to root out racism

CONCERNED rugby bosses will begin an ‘independent inquiry’ this week into Luther Burrell’s claims of racism in their sport.

RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney revealed he has had a one-to-one with Burrell following his revelations in the Mail on Sunday that he endured ‘racist experiences’ during his playing career.

Sweeney first met Burrell in a meeting along with the Premier Rugby Limited and the Rugby Players Association at Twickenham to discuss the matter. The chief executive then travelled to Yorkshire to see the England centre.

With the current racism controversies dragging cricket through the mire, Sweeney insists he will leave no stone unturned in getting to the root of the matter and decide what action needs to be taken. He insisted: ‘Luther was open and transparent. It’s good he’s speaking up, so we can really understand the issue in more detail.

‘It’s important to go out to the game and create an environment where people can share their experiences, and we can get our arms around what is the extent of this issue and how we manage it.

‘It is very important and good for Luther to speak up. He has explained and told us his feelings and his views in terms of what has happened.

‘In terms of two tangible things coming out of that, there will be an RFU inquiry with an independent chair which will be starting imminently. Secondly, we are setting up a means and a process to go out to the broader professional game and create the right environment for people to be able to feed back in their views.

‘Ellis (Genge) spoke about it before the (England) Australia match, and said that in his perception, he didn’t feel that racism is rife. But then how do you define that? And what is the extent of the issue we need to address?

‘Is it ignorant banter that may have been acceptable years ago but no longer is? Does that lead you down an education route in terms of what is acceptable in this day and age and what isn’t?

‘So we are in that stage now, and Luther is involved in that second phase. We are just trying to get our arms around it now.’