Sale’s Steve Diamond avoids hearing over altercation with journalist
Steve Diamond will not face a disciplinary hearing after confronting a journalist at the end of Sale’s victory at Gloucester on Saturday and inviting him to “go outside” because the reporter involved will not make an official complaint.
Diamond, Sale’s director of rugby, approached Sam Peters, who was reporting on the match for the Sunday Times, at the end of his media conference to take issue over an article written three months before in which Peters had been critical of him.
Part of the argument which followed was filmed by another journalist and uploaded on social media. The Rugby Football Union insists it can act only on a complaint made directly to it, although that has not been the case in past charges of bringing the game into disrepute, such as the one involving the Gloucester fly-half Danny Cipriani earlier this year.
Peters said he would not be making a complaint for family reasons and because he is uncomfortable, as a journalist, about becoming the story. He argues that given the evidence that exists and past cases, including coaches who have criticised referees in their post-match interviews, disciplinary action should not come down to him while Gloucester are also said to have received a number of complaints from supporters about the language coming from Sale’s coaching area in the stand during the game.
Just as Diamond, whose club on Monday announced their South Africa scrum-half Faf de Klerk had signed a contract extension to keep him at the club until the summer of 2023, will not have the bother of having to answer to a disciplinary panel so there were no citings from the bad-tempered Big Game 11 at Twickenham between Harlequins and Wasps last Saturday.
Harlequins suspended their hooker, Dave Ward, for one match for stamping on Thomas Young but he will not have to answer to an allegation, which he denied, that he spat at the Wasps flanker, after the citing officer Buster White concluded that the video evidence did not justify a charge.
Harlequins felt the Wasps wing Josh Bassett should have been called for dangerous play when he took evasive action after failing to beat Mike Brown to a high ball and got in the way of the England full-back, who landed on his head and shoulders, as he made his descent, but it was ruled not to merit a red card.