Warren Gatland has described Joe Marler’s “gypsy boy” remark as banter and believes the England prop should face no punishment.
Marler is facing a minimum six-week ban if two allegations hanging over him from last week’s match against Wales at Twickenham are upheld.
He has already been cited for elbowing Rob Evans – an offence that carries a minimum two-week suspension – and after the Six Nations have dealt with that they will turn to the insult he was heard directing towards another front rower, Samson Lee.
If found guilty then verbal abuse of a player based on religion, race, colour, national or ethnic origin, sexual orientation or otherwise carries a minimum sanction of a four-week suspension.
But Wales coach Gatland believes the issue of Marler’s description of Lee should have ended with Lee’s acceptance of the Harlequins player’s half-time apology.
“It was just a bit of banter as far as I was concerned. Joe said to Samson at half-time it was just a bit of fun and Samson had no issue with him.
“Twenty years ago, this sort of thing was sorted out with fists and stuff and I do not want to make a massive issue of it; let’s put it to bed. I was more concerned with the forearm he [Marler] was cited for and we will see what the outcome of that is.
“Players have got to be aware there are microphones everywhere and that comments are going to be picked up. People get so politically correct and make massive issues of things in every aspect of life, not just sport.
“In every aspect, people get so PC and just make massive issues about things. It was just one of those things, a little bit of banter and we’ve accepted that. We’ve accepted the apology and just move on.”
©Huw Evans Picture Agency
Gatland’s comments will be viewed by many in the game as a worthy attempt to keep rugby’s ethical code as one controlled by the players themselves. Marler offended Lee, Lee squared up to Marler, an apology was made by one player and accepted by the other.
There will be others, though, who will see the dismissal of the episode as “banter” as an acceptance of insulting remarks that could be considered to be racist.
“Banter” was the same description used by former Cardiff City football manager Malky Mackay and the League Managers Association (LMA) for the racist texts sent from his phone three years ago. Infamously, the LMA went on to issue an apology for their original apology.
Gatland has always been a coach unafraid to speak his own mind and his stance is a different one to that taken by his own assistant Rob Howley as well as England coach Eddie Jones.
Howley had said: “As players and coaches, there is banter in the game but there is no place for that.”
He added: I’m sure World Rugby will decide, effectively, what to do and we’ll support them in whatever that decision is.”
Jones had also condemned the remark and said: “It’s not in the spirit of the game. Joe understands that and that’s why he apologised straight away. People makes mistakes, we all make mistakes.
“The fact that he apologised at half-time is a real testament to Joe’s character. You don’t apologise at half-time in a game of rugby unless you mean it.”
