English rugby chiefs have partnered with Show Racism The Red Card in a renewed bid to stamp out discrimination in the sport.
The RFU has linked with the leading anti-racism charity amid moves to tackle the kind of abuse suffered by former England centre Luther Burrell in his time at Newcastle Falcons.
Leroy Rosenior has appeared in online RFU diversity training, in his role as vice president and ambassador for Show Racism The Red Card.
The former Fulham, West Ham and QPR striker is among the famous faces to have helped shape English rugby’s future approach to combating racism and abuse in the sport.
An RFU investigation upheld Burrell’s allegations of suffering racist abuse, and the former Northampton centre was praised for blowing the whistle on his treatment.
A joint survey between the RFU, Premiership Rugby, Premier Rugby 15s and The Rugby Players’ Association found that men’s and women’s players had been subjected to racism and discrimination at every level of the sport.
The four English domestic rugby bodies have been strengthening their diversity and inclusion, with new structures now being implemented for reporting discriminatory incidents.
“Luther was very brave to come forward and share his experiences of racism and classism in the game, and he has the continued support of the union,” said RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney.
“Working together we will act collectively to eliminate racism, classism and any form of discrimination from our game and ensure club environments are inclusive for any player from every background.
“Our collective inclusion and diversity action plan for the elite game has been accelerated in light of Luther’s experience. It highlights the need for more inclusive leadership, the need to look at reporting processes, and to broaden access to the game and pathways.”
The Premiership clubs’ chief executives held a collective zoom call and have reaffirmed their commitment to the renewed initiatives.
“There is no place for racism in our society or the game of rugby,” said Premiership Rugby chief executive Simon Massie-Taylor. “We understand the issues around us and have pledged to educate our game and implement change.
“Mandatory training will involve all players, coaches and staff at Premiership Rugby clubs, starting before the end of the season. These training sessions will tackle the issues highlighted by players across the elite game.”
