The flinch response to Izak Rankine’s homophobic slur was the sheer stupidity of it. Perhaps more than any other section of society, footballers are educated, counselled and warned. And it still didn’t get through. The laws of the game, particularly around ruck contests and holding the ball, are increasingly incomprehensible. But the rules in this instance couldn’t be clearer.
What’s more contested is landing on an appropriate penalty. It’s easy cracking down on players who transgress in scratch matches, lower tier competitions and struggling teams. It’s more fraught when it’s a superstar. For this player, for this club, and at this stage of a long, grinding and finally fruitful rebuild, four weeks may as well be four years.
