Sale boss Diamond involved in fracas with rugby journalist after win at Gloucester

Sale boss Diamond involved in fracas with rugby journalist after win at Gloucester - reports

Journalist Sam Peters confirmed a confrontation had taken place, and described Steve Diamond as a ‘narcissistic bully’.

SALE SHARKS’ DIRECTOR of rugby Steve Diamond could face a Premiership investigation after confronting a rugby journalist, launching a verbal attack against him and inviting him ‘outside’, according to several reports in the UK rugby media.

Against the odds, Sale had just overcome high-flying Gloucester at Kingsholm on a scoreline of 30-15. After his press conference, however, rather than bask in his team’s unlikely victory, Diamond sought out Sunday Times and Independent rugby scribe Sam Peters in the club’s media centre.

Per accounts in both The Guardian and The Independent, Diamond — who prides himself on his ‘old-school’ values — took umbrage with the fact that Peter had not asked a question at the press conference despite writing a column in September which criticised the 50-year-old’s methods at Sale.

Diamond is reported to have asked Peters if he wished to take the conversation outside before grabbing the dictaphone from the journalist’s hand and verbally abusing him. He is also said to have described Peters’ September column as “lies”. The pair then became engaged in a shouting match for around a minute.

Peters, who per The Independent’s Jack de Menezes explained to Diamond that anything he wished to discuss could be said in front of the onlooking press, later confirmed on Twitter that a confrontation had taken place.

The journalist labelled Diamond a “narcissistic bully” and said he would give his full version of events at the right time.

Thanks for concern (most). I can confirm an altercation took place between me and Steve Diamond after he ‘offered me out’ tonight. I’ll recount in full at right time. Safe to say more play school than old school from a man I consider to be nothing more than a narcissistic bully.
— Sam Peters (@Sam_sportsnews) December 29, 2018

It’s understood no formal complaint has been made to Premiership Rugby at this time.

Last season, Diamond was given a six-week ban for claiming referee Craig Maxwell-Keys “made decisions up” in Sale’s defeat to Exeter. He has previously served 12 and 18-week bans for pushing Northampton’s performance coach in 2011 and verbally abusing match officials in 2012 respectively.

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