A former referee at the WRU has claimed homophobic language was used about former referee Nigel Owens and went unchallenged in the office. Owens, 51, came out in 2007 and retired from refereeing Test matches in 2020.
Martyn Lewis, a referee who oversaw Welsh Premiership games and assisted at regional fixtures until 2016, told the BBC that certain individuals within the WRU had too much control and described hearing homophobic language from a colleague repeatedly referring to Owens as "the gay boy". "When that's everyday speech in the office environment around the union – and this isn't something that was just said on the odd occasion, this is said in front of everybody in the business," said Mr Lewis. "And to have not been brought to task on that really shows the culture of people not being stood up to. And frankly those in senior positions should have sort of cut that out anyway."
Mr Lewis also claimed to the BBC he tried to confront the person who had made the alleged comment but the complaint was never tackled at a more senior level. He also claimed the recent allegations of sexism and misogyny did not surprise him as the WRU was "run like a bunch of amateurs". He added: "I would question anybody that's been part of the part of the union to act surprised and if they were genuinely surprised they didn't walk around with their eyes open."
