The Rugby Football League has condemned the “disgraceful” homophobic abuse directed at one of its senior match officials, Marcus Griffiths, after he revealed the scale of personal attacks he has suffered on social media.
Griffiths, one of the RFL’s full‑time panel of referees, officiated Huddersfield’s Super League game against Leeds on Sunday, which the Giants won 21-12. However, he has subsequently been subjected to a series of homophobic slurs on social media, with Griffiths publicly revealing on Tuesday screenshots of messages sent to his accounts.
The RFL responded with a strongly worded statement offering its full support to Griffiths, while also writing to all of the sport’s professional clubs instructing them to emphasise their role in helping to support match officials. “All in the sport will condemn the appalling abuse which Marcus Griffiths has received on social media,” Tony Sutton, the RFL chief executive, said.
“We will provide support to Marcus through Rugby League Cares, and have worked with him in alerting the relevant authorities, whether digital or law enforcement. We would urge all involved in the sport, whether at clubs or even in the media, to consider the consequences of their words and actions.
“Homophobic abuse is a hate crime and punishable by law. We want to be clear that any kind of discriminatory abuse is not welcome in our sport, and we will take the strongest possible action against perpetrators who can be identified. Our officials work under intense scrutiny and pressure. We owe it to them as a governing body, and also as a sport, to support them at all times.”
Griffiths posted on X, formerly known as Twitter: “When people ask ‘Why do we still need pride?’ This is the reason!” before revealing a series of messages sent to him on Instagram including homophobic slurs. The account in question has now been deleted, with Griffiths receiving support from Robert Hicks, a former referee who is now an RFL director, who said: “We will do what we have to in order to support and kick this out.”
The Guardian understands the RFL is also investigating a now-deleted post from the Leeds prop Sam Lisone on X. The forward, who played in the game on Sunday, said: “Refs need to be held accountable just like players.” Lisone is now likely to be asked to explain his actions further by the governing body as it attempts to stamp out abuse aimed at officials.
