ENGLAND WING JACK Nowell will be available for Exeter’s Champions Cup semi-final against La Rochelle after avoiding a ban for criticising a referee on Twitter.
Nowell was charged with conduct prejudicial to the interests of the Rugby Football Union and the game by the English governing body after Exeter team-mate Olly Woodburn received a second yellow card and was sent off during the Chiefs’ 62-19 Premiership hammering by Leicester on Sunday.
Woodburn had dived on Chris Ashton on the ground and, responding to referee Karl Dickson’s decision, Nowell said in a since-deleted tweet: “I’m actually in shock, like shock shocked. What the hell is happening? That’s one of the worst decisions I’ve ever seen. EVER.”
Nowell accepted the charge at a disciplinary hearing on Wednesday where an independent disciplinary panel, who could have imposed a suspension, fined him £10,000.
The panel directed Nowell, 30, to pay the money to charity and to also undertake a referees’ course.
It means Nowell is free to face European champions La Rochelle in Bordeaux on 30 April.
An RFU statement issued Thursday said World Rugby had confirmed Dickson had made the correct decision.
Disciplinary panel chairman Matthew O’Grady said while debate about on-field decisions by players was “inevitable”, they had to recognise their responsibility to avoid creating a “pile-on of public comment” about officials.
He added: “Respect for match officials – even if we disagree with their decisions, indeed especially if we disagree with their decisions – is a core part of rugby union. It is not a value that we can turn on and off when we choose.”
