Rugby - England's Hughes has ban hiked to six weeks after 'joke' tweet

The 27-year-old Wasps forward had earlier received a four-week ban for striking Gloucester's Lewis Ludlow during the Oct. 6 Premiership match and tweeted "What a joke" after leaving the hearing.

Rugby - England's Hughes has ban hiked to six weeks after 'joke' tweet

(Reuters)





He was hauled straight back to the hearing to explain the tweet after the disciplinary panel found out about it but another hearing was scheduled because Hughes' counsel had already left, the Rugby Football Union said in a statement.

At the second hearing on Wednesday, Hughes' ban was extended to six weeks.

Hughes gave evidence that "his guilty plea had only been entered on advice and that he did not genuinely believe that he was guilty of the offence in question which ultimately led to his frustration as expressed in the tweet," the RFU said.

"Whilst the panel accept that the tweet was written in a moment of frustration and was deleted quickly by the player, it had already been picked up on social media and was then discussed publicly.

"The panel make it clear that tweets and comments such as this undermine the game, the core value of respect and the disciplinary process."

Hughes' back-dated ban will run until Nov. 20, making him eligible for selection for England's test against Australia on Nov. 24.

















(Reporting by Ian Ransom in Melbourne; Editing by Greg Stutchbury)


Share
2 min read

Published

Source: Reuters


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world