LONDON (AP) — A council member for England’s Rugby Football Union has resigned after making discriminatory comments on social media about Maggie Alphonsi, a Women’s World Cup-winning former England star.
In a post on Facebook, Matt Smith questioned what Alphonsi knows “about men’s rugby” while she was working as a TV pundit for the men’s Six Nations game between France and England in March.
Smith, who represents Warwickshire RFU, was handed a seven-month ban by an independent disciplinary panel, a sanction that meant his RFU council privileges — including match tickets and travel expenses — were removed as well as access to RFU premises.
He still held his voting rights and stayed on as a council member in the 62-person governing body, however, and Alphonsi called for him to be replaced, saying there was “no room for sexism, misogyny, or any form of discrimination in our game.”
On Monday, Warwickshire RFU said in a statement that Smith has quit “in light of a recent disciplinary process.”
“We recognise that this situation has raised important concerns and as a constituent body, we want to be clear that we take issues of sexism and misogyny seriously,” it said. “Creating a respectful, inclusive environment across our game remains a priority for us all.”
Alphonsi is ‘First Lady’ of English rugby
Alphonsi won 74 caps, seven Six Nations titles, and the World Cup with England in 2014 before retiring that year.
She was honored by the late Queen Elizabeth II in 2012 for services to rugby and inducted into World Rugby’s Hall of Fame in 2016 — with the world body describing her as the “First Lady” of English women’s rugby.
Alphonsi first commentated on men’s international rugby when she was signed up by broadcaster ITV for the Rugby World Cup in 2015.
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