|
Danny Cipriani will face no further action from the RFU in relation to his arrest outside a nightclub during Gloucester's preseason tour of Jersey. The RFU charged Cipriani with conduct prejudicial to the interests of the game following the incident in which Cipriani was arrested on five charges. After pleading guilty in court to two of those - common assault and resisting arrest - he was fined £2,250. His club later imposed a further fine of £2,000 as well as 10 hours of community service and while the RFU upheld their charge, a disciplinary board decided that no further punishment was necessary. "Danny Cipriani is expected to behave in line with the core values of the game which include respect and discipline," said panel chair Gareth Graham. "Those core values are not empty words or slogans as the panel were reminded during the hearing. "By his guilty plea before the criminal court, Mr Cipriani accepts that he behaved in a way that, in the panel's view, fell below the standard of behaviour expected of a rugby player. The panel were supported in reaching that decision by Gloucester Rugby's own internal disciplinary hearing finding that his behaviour fell below the standard that the club expects. "Mr Cipriani is a role model and by committing an act of common assault and by resisting arrest, the panel find his actions are prejudicial to the interests of the game. "The panel took in to account the sanction imposed upon Mr Cipriani by the court and the sanction imposed by Gloucester Rugby and when considering the totality of both, do not impose any further sanction." The RFU had been criticised for their decision to charge Cipriani by both his club and the RPA. In the court's judgement against the Gloucester flyhalf, a magistrate declared that the incident was a 'minor' one. However, the RFU believe that this was not the case and that they were fully justified in levying a charge against Cipriani. "The panel do not agree that this is a 'minor' incident or 'trivial'," Graham continued. "Whilst they [the panel] endorse the actions of Gloucester Rugby in fining Mr Cipriani and ordering that he complete 10 hours of work in the community, [the panel] finds that the decision of the RFU to bring a charge under Rule 5.12 was appropriate."
|
