I agree some Saints fans did shout abuse at Barrie Mac but so did most other clubs.

Yes Barrie Mac did get that at most the grounds.

Barrie Mac, James Graham and w@nker referees are red herrings; homophobic abuse is now considered a hate crime - there is no such designation for one-eyed hard men, fat gingers or Ian Smith, so the club had a duty to come down on the perpertrators like a tonne of bricks; they chose not to, so the RFL came down on them. They got what they deserved; simples.

It worries me there seems to be so many people who believe that homophobic abuse is;

A) Acceptable outright,
B) Can be compared to jokes about hair colour etc.


My friend today tried to tell me that Gareth Thomas has no right to complain because he is "openly gay". It is like living in the dark ages at times.

No it hasn't. Some Cas fans seem confused and want to blame anyone but the actual culprits, but not all. And certainly not all of Yorkshire.



No it's not. And pretending it is just makes the case for stronger action from the RFL.

I'm sorry, but the abuse that ginger people get is often far worse than what gay people get. Funny that the last few are illegal but this isn't.

I'm a cru fan, and thought the fine was harsh. Pretty sure a warning would of surficed.

[url=http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=homophobic+assaults+UK&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-USicon_surprised.giffficial&client=firefox-areally[/url?

I always thought the Cas fans hated us anyway

When we visit the Jungle we always get things thrown at us and anti welsh abuse from the fans

Also looks like your club is going to be in more trouble again because of the morons at the Gnoll today.They were singing anti Thomas chants and being racist to Weller Hauraki and the funniest thing about it is you got 2 dark skinned players in your own team

Stop making things up, it will land you in a lot of trouble, give over or action WILL be taken.

I would mention about trouble with your stewards, but I did in another thread, so come back when you have stewards that aren't power hungry thugs, ok?

If you can't take abuse and being man handled don't dish it out.Those 'kids' were asking for it

So stewards hitting fans is acceptable now is it? right-o, just another of many reasons why you shouldn't be in the league if you think that's how stewards should act, made the KR stewards look polite.

There was a Castleford lad standing waiting for his team to leave the field. As they walked off he stood behind the barrier and told them what he thought of their performance.

Good on him

Funnily enough he never said anything to Ryan McGoldrick!

Oh dear

he is the WORST player to ever put on a Cas shirt and the sooner he's gone the better.

Proof please or is it just me that feels that your just throwing anything out to try and justify the shameful actions of a small element of your fans at the Jungle.

All your posts seem to be saying that Gareth Thomas is seeking media attention etc etc etc yet not once do you acknowledge that an independent panel found that Cas took no actions on the night or in the following weeks regarding the minorities actions. Note that's twice I've mentioned a minority not the majority!

Do you or do you not agree that homophobic chanting has no place in RL or would you ask that everyone accepts it as banter?

Just for info. the Cas fans I met today were a great bunch, we shook hands and wished each other well at the end of the game.

No, it did happen, the proof has been sent to the RFL and the league express, if it gets printed you will see.

I agree, there's no place for it, but the fact he's made such a big deal out of it is nothing short of a disgrace, especially seems he can't keep his story straight, it went from "I didn't hear anything" to "I heard it and had a laugh & joke with them" to "it made me frightened" - pathetic.

I did see that you say the minority, and I agree, in fact it's probably the idiots who got banned from the Jungle who are still getting to away games.

Good, that's what we like about this game, long may it continue, but that's where the stewards kicked off, a bunch of Cas & Cru fans were talking and they went diving in like morons.

What's your beef then is it that that whilst he may or may not have heard it first hand but certainly is aware of it should just shut up and accept it then?

Well considering he said he wanted to forget about the whole "ordeal" then decided, surprisingly when his book came out, to spout it to everyone who would listen, yes he should have shut up after the RFL were made aware of it.

Frankly if a small section of your 'fans' behave the way they did today, you're lucky that a few 'heavy handed' stewards is all they have to complain about, they were treading a fine line. I enjoyed the banter between the fans myself its a great part of the game but there are limits.The few Cas fans I came across were quite amiable. Im not saying the response by stewards was the best but what do you expect?

The Crusaders have as much right to be in Super League as anyone else.

Just for accuracy, the details of his book


Alfie!: The Gareth Thomas Story
Hardcover: 288 pages
Publisher: Mainstream Publishing; illustrated edition edition (1 Nov 2007)

I would like you to expand further on this racist chanting. Because, I know i was right in the middle of where the cas fans were and not once did i hear anything said to Wello Houraki. In fact, I know for a fact, Cas are trying to sign him next year, As he is Rangi Chase's best mate, So why would we abuse him ?

You cannot have a go at Cas fans for the Anti Thomas chants, We now dislike him, As we feel he has played on this saga too much, As much as it may have been out of order, I think he has milked it for all its worth

I did hear the odd song about him, But none were as bad as what was sung at Cas, And the stewards were on hand, And were been quite strict to police it, I know this from when my mate walked by one going into the ground, He made a small remark and the steward quickly told him no more, So how come the stewards, Stood in the middle of the fans didnt start ejecting Cas fans willy Nilly for the chanting you say, As they were there.

In fact, Someone i know was almost in bother early doors for having a go at Ganson over the Liam Watts try given at Cas, And he lied to the steward saying he was threatening him, When he didnt, BUt he was out of order, So after this i had quite long talks with a few of your stewards and in the end had a bit of a laugh and a joke with them, And they seemed quite happy with us, And we seemed quite happy with them tbh

There was an incident where a beer was thrown either way in the crowd, But that was quickly stomped out also.

As for the lad in the police van, I seem to think it was the lad who had a go at Ganson, But he was only given a telling off by the police and that was all. Nothing serious, But then again, The stewards knew he was in the ground, Knew where he was, And didnt decide to eject him, As they personally felt he didnt do that much wrong. So a warning was sufficient.

All in all, It could have been much much worse IMO, Moving the game that far away encouraged those going, To drink more, As its a longer journey, And it could have ended in really vile chanting etc. And i dont think it was so bad

In fact the worst of it was aimed towards a Cas fan on the pitch at HT, Who got the James Graham treatment from his own mates, But that was taken in good humour

God, there are a fair few keyboard warriors on here aren't there.

Your chants at gareth thomas stopped immediatly as soon as we sang where if your 40 grand. I thought that was hillarious.

As for the racist chants, i heard none of them, not really sure where that come from. But allot of your singing was mumbled late in the game. The heavy handed steward as you say did a damn fine job. You complain they were heavy handed, as one of your friends made a "small remark". Just doing their job by the sounds of it.

I trust that given the account of Can fans there who have commented that the actions of a few idiotic fans (who you claim to know)led to the stewards taking action you'll add that to your report to the RFL and League Express.