Jack Nowell fined and must do course over tweet about rugby referee
England international winger Jack Nowell has been fined £10,000 and must complete a referees’ course over a tweet he posted following a red card during a Premiership match on Sunday.
Exeter Chiefs teammate Olly Woodburn received a second yellow card – and therefore a red – for what referee Karl Dickson deemed an offence during Exeter’s 62-19 loss to Leicester Tigers.
Upon Woodburn receiving his marching orders, Nowell tweeted: “I’m actually in shock, like shock shocked. What the hell is happening? That’s one of the worst decisions I’ve ever seen. EVER”
Nowell banned from rugby
That tweet has seen him fined £10,000 by the disciplinary panel and will undertake a referees’ course – meaning he can play for Exeter in the Premiership and Champions Cup as the Chiefs look to finish an era with a core group of players on a high.
The disciplinary panel chair Matthew O’Grady said: “Debate about on-field decisions by players and officials is an inevitable part of rugby union and professional rugby players have the right to express themselves about the sport they play.
“However, they are not free from the consequences of such expression when it breaches their professional obligation not to act prejudicially to the interests of the game by disrespecting match officials, their decisions and their authority – not least when that expression contributes to a ‘pile on’ of public comment about a match official or match officials.”
Teammates Henry Slade and Luke Cowan-Dickie appeared to post about the incident, too, but were not cited for their social media activity.
Joe Marler, a rugby player for Harlequins, previously clarified an ‘incompetent nobs’ tweet in October 2021 with an image of a door handle falling off its fixing.
Referee Karl Dickson has received criticism from some over the call, while others have stated that he was following the rule book to the letter of the law.
The ex-Harlequins scrum-half will referee his former club this weekend as the Londoners look to keep their slim top four hopes alive at Twickenham against Bath.