Luther Burrell: RFU investigation finds player’s racism claims true, say Newcastle Falcons

We need to eradicate racism – Luther Burrell speaking in June 2022

A Rugby Football Union report will find ex-player Luther Burrell’s claims of racism in the sport are true, according to his former club Newcastle.

The governing body said in July it would investigate Burrell’s allegations, essentially taking over an internal investigation started by Newcastle – his most recent club.

Falcons said the RFU report would conclude the allegations were true “on the balance of probabilities”, though there is “insufficient evidence” to say they happened at the club.

The RFU report – in which no individuals are specifically named – is expected to be published this week. The governing body will not comment until the findings are published.

Former England centre Burrell, 35, spoke out in June 2022 about his experiences, saying racist “banter” had become “normalised” among team-mates and that racism was “rife” in the sport.

The RFU confirmed in November that the investigation had been completed.

Newcastle said the report would refer to three occurrences that “on the balance of probabilities are more likely to have happened during his time with Newcastle Falcons than not”.

They were a WhatsApp message in a private group, and two other incidents on a night out and an away trip.

However, Newcastle said “no further actionable evidence” – for example names, dates, times or places – that would allow them to take disciplinary action had been provided.

The club said the report would recommend additional training and education for employees of the club, as well as additional signposting for reporting concerns.

After spells at Leeds Carnegie and Sale Sharks, Burrell spent seven years at Northampton Saints from 2012 to 2019, winning the 2013-14 Premiership title and also making 15 appearances for England between 2014 and 2016.

He switched codes to play for rugby league side Warrington Wolves in 2019, before returning to union with Newcastle in 2020.

Burrell left Falcons in June, shortly after detailing his experiences of racism.

Newcastle said it was “gravely concerning” that anyone would be subject to discriminatory behaviour “within the game we all love, or within any walk of life”.

The club added: “It is incredibly disappointing to learn that any individuals have ever felt subject to discriminatory behaviour during their time with us and we want to make it very clear that we do not condone any discriminatory behaviour, nor do we endorse the idea of classifying this as banter.

“Had any reports of this nature been made to HR or management they would have been dealt with in the appropriate manner.

“Given that after an extensive investigation there remains no way to identify those involved in any of the allegations outlined above, that many staff and players have left since the time Luther was at the club, that the report refers to generally positive feedback on the culture and behaviours of the club and given that Luther’s stated aim was to educate and improve things for the future, going forward the club will be focusing on education and reinforcement of the aims and processes within our policies, as recommended in the report.”