Fax’s Barber found guilty of RFL breaches over Tweet

Barber has been fined £1,000, with £750 of it has been suspended until the end of 2021 – and a reprimand has been entered on his Disciplinary Record. His punishment has however been mitigated by his contrition, which included volunteering for educational courses on Inclusion and Diversity.

The punishment relates to a tweet posted on July 30, which was found by an Operational Rules Tribunal to have contained Unacceptable Behaviour and Language, which by implication targeted individuals or groups on the grounds of ethnic origin and/or religion.

Explaining their ruling, the Tribunal noted that such offences were “very serious and would not be tolerated”. However it gave the Player credit for his admissions and the fact that he had “taken voluntary steps to seek help, to educate himself with regard to Equality Inclusion and Diversity and his expressed intention to continue in that undertaking in the future”.

In a statement, Fax said: “The Board are aware of the RFL’s decision and are pleased to see the acknowledgement of Ed’s voluntary actions and commitment to high standards in regards to his future conduct. The Club continues to be supportive and now regards this matter as closed and will be making no further comment.”