Quote Doncaster centre Shaun Leaf has been given an 18-month ban and fined £500 by the Rugby Football League. The RFL found Leaf, 22, guilty of betting against his own club in games with Toulouse in August 2009 and Wakefield in May 2011. He was also found guilty of betting on other games including Gateshead versus Harlequins and Wigan against Barrow. The suspension will commence from the date that Leaf's provisional suspension began, on 12 May 2011.'" news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_l ... 549151.stm

Quote Doncaster centre Shaun Leaf has been given an 18-month ban and fined £500 by the Rugby Football League. The RFL found Leaf, 22, guilty of betting against his own club in games with Toulouse in August 2009 and Wakefield in May 2011. He was also found guilty of betting on other games including Gateshead versus Harlequins and Wigan against Barrow. The suspension will commence from the date that Leaf's provisional suspension began, on 12 May 2011.'" news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_l ... 549151.stm

Seems about a fair punishment to me.

Why much harsher than Long and Gleeson got?

IIRC Leaf bet more than once on his team to lose and in one of the games he was actually playing. Plus Long & Gleeson both were fined far more.

Like Gleeson

True. It might be a tad on the harsh side, maybe 12 months might have been more appropriate but I still think it's not out of the bounds of reason. Plus Long & Gleeson only did it once. There appeared to be at least one other occasion where Leaf had bet against his side from that Sun article a while ago anyway, so it leads you to think there may have been more. And as I say Long & Gleeson got hefty fines, plus after the Long & Gleeson case you wouldn't think any RL player could possibly be that thick.

I'm not defending him at all.I won't even wax lyrical about the disparity between punishment for Super League players and those players in The Championship.
I am just wondering if anyone knows the most serious ban he could have been given because it does seem odd that [url=http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/rugby_league/3689297/Shamed-Shaun-Leaf-charged.htmlthis particular News International publication got it right on the money over a month ago[/url

Suspicious in a number of ways - even if it is only a case of phone hacking.

Why was he done for this?

He also admitted not trying as hard in certain games as to loose. It should have been a life ban!

It seems very unfair to me. He bet on games you would expect them to lose. Why ban him for that long? Fines are ok to be different as higher leagues earn more, but bans need to be the same.

Absolute rubbish!

"Leaf was found not guilty of providing privileged information to a third party to assist in betting activity; seeking to influence improperly the result and engaging in a conduct that was corrupt or fraudulent."

It's a ban for being stupid really.

sorry if i sound stupid, i understand its not acceptable to bet against your own team. but what is the problem with him putting bets on a game that doesnt involve him at all ?

If he was throwing games then the ban is fair but if all he is doing is ripping off the bookies he has my sympathy the sooner we have betting away from our sport the better. I have not bought a shirt this year as we are sponsored by gambling & I would like the RFL to stop the gambling industry using our fixtures or results.

Depends what he was betting on. Interesting that a Wigan game was involved. Wonder how Tomkins is involved in all of this?

Probably getting Sam [size=85"has torn you apart again"[/size Tomkins at a good early price for MOS. Easy money made there.

Weren't Long and Gleesons bans shorter because Long wasn't playing and Gleeson scored in the game, so there was proof they were still trying to win.

18 months seems about fair to me tbh.

Seems to be a rule in most sports that you don't gamble on that sport. You'd be foolish to believe it doesn't happen, but obviously if you don't speak to undercover journos, nor brag about it, you'll get away with it.

So, the fact that his so called 'mate' stitched him up, has nothing to do with it. The same mate whose disciplinary proceedings on the same offence have disappeared from the RFL website.

Its more intriguing that the Sun 'predicted' the outcome of this, some 4 weeks before the tribunal decision was finalised.

Has someone been undertaking the Rebecca Brooks methods again?

Soccer players love a bet.

If that is correct then the poor guy has been done because he has been too honest for his own good.
Not like this country punishes the easy targets - 5 Crusaders players and the UK border Agency springs to mind.
He does seem to have offered a good deal of assistance to the RFL - far more than the Sun comic produced - and he seems to have been punished further for this.
It does seem to send out a certain signal - but not generally a good one for the sport moving forward,as they say.

There has never been a doubt over Shaun's commitment to Doncaster Rugby league club in every single match he has played in. He has been one of the hardest working servants the club has ever had and stayed with the club through at least 2 periods of turmoil despite having the chance to move on.

The ban to me seems disproportionate considering the assistance he has offered, and the roll the Sun seems to have played in this leaves a particularly bad taste.

To highlight the fact the Dons fans have all the faith in Shaun and his attitude to the games in which he has played, there was a collection at last weeks game, and there will be one at this weekends game too, to pay his fine

Very true, and I'm sure there are others in others sports who do too on their own sport. They manage to get away with it, or its swept under the carpet. Leaf shouldn't have done what he did, but was stitched up by a newspaper and is paying the price. The motivations of said newspaper need to be questioned here as well as those of the player. Exposing a semi-pro having a bet, while wrong, is hardly 'the darkest day in the sport' or whatever crap they published.

Player gives almost a decades excellent service to an unfashionable lower league rugby league club and then makes a foolish mistake ,and gets hammered by the RFL with a ban totally disproportionate to the 'crime'.
He was club captain and sponsered by the supporters trust. Once again the little man gets hammered with full force to be made an example of. If he had been a star of SL the outcome would have been different.
Is there any wonder people walk away from RL?
There will be another collection at the Keepmoat on Sunday to contribute to Shaun fine payment.
Come on you Dons!

Just don't let him be photographed in a Quins shirt again!