AdmiralHanson wrote:
I remember Leeds player Gareth Stephens flicking them towards his own fans ...
Hardly the crime of the century is it?
Well before the famous Eric Cantonna "one foot in the crowd" incident,
I remember 1968, Billy Boston jumped over the wall at Knotty Ash, Liverpool Citys ground and thumped a spectatator who was giving him racial abuse, he returned to the field and carried on playing, and no one said a thing.
Times are different now, spectators think they can say, and, do as they wish, with out any consequence to themselves, look at some of the comments on (all boards) here for evidence.
Rugby players are people with emotions, like all human being's they will react if pushed to far, remember John Prescott.
Personally, I think Sam does pretty well to control his reactions in dealing with the constant barrage of some pretty vile abuse from a minority of spectators at all clubs. I'll come to your place of work and call your mother a whore, etc, let's see how short your fuze is ?
As the best talent in SL at the moment, he's a target, that has been and always will be the case for all of the games great's, but, be honest, in the emotion and adrenallin fuelled atmosphere of a CC sticking two fingers up isn't that big a deal, is it ?
If the RL decide its worthy of action, then he will have to suffer the consequences, and rightly so, but until then, get of his back and have a good look at yourselves before verbally attacking someone (not just ST) that you don't know personally.