Hull FC coach Brett Hodgson says Tony Clubb’s eight-match ban for a racial comment against Andre Savelio is too lenient - but hailed his player’s conduct during the matter.
Wigan prop Clubb was on Wednesday fined two weeks wages by his club which will go towards “a dedicated education and diversity training programme”. The Warriors said that Clubb’s New Zealand-born captain Thomas Leuluai provided support to a judge’s finding that the prop is not racist, despite Savelio revealing he called him a “stupid Polynesian c**t”.
Clubb has been banned for eight games and fined £500 following an independent hearing on Tuesday, which found he used “unacceptable language based on national or ethnic origin”. Hodgson says that is not enough - but praised the attitude of Savelio and confirmed he will face Wigan again in Saturday’s repeat Challenge Cup clash.
Hodgson said: “My own personal opinion here - and I want to stress that’s what it is - is I thought it was too lenient in the current circumstances with everything that’s going on.
“I want to say how proud I am of how Andre has handled himself. He was put in a very hard situation and there’s never a right time for racism in sport or life in general.
“The fact is that Andre has stood up for himself, his culture and his ethnicity, and I’m really proud of his actions from start to finish.
“He’s a big part of our club, a big personality and is very well liked in the playing group and the club in general. We’ve been very supportive of him.”
Asked if Savelio is ready to face Wigan again so quickly, Hodgson added: “I believe he’s mentally tough enough and handled himself exceptionally well.
“I can’t even contemplate what it felt like for him because I’m not in that situation, but he handled himself extremely well and continues to do so.
“He’s assured me that he’s good to go and I trust him. The players have got around Andre exceptionally well and I’m expecting a solid performance.”
Wigan coach Lam - who also gave a character reference for Clubb - says his squad has now put the incident behind them. Lam said: “Early days as you would expect there was a lot of chat around the group.
“But we’ve moved on quickly from that and preparation at training has been solid. We need to make sure we stay focused in this moment in our biggest game and week of this year.”
