Rugby

Sale terminate Tom Arscott’s contract after alleged information leak

Club confirm that player was suspended in early January over incident

Sale Sharks have suspended Tom Arscott for an alleged information leak ahead of the recent game against Bristol. Photograph: Nigel Roddis/Getty Images

Thu Jan 19 2017 - 19:06

Aviva Premiership club Sale have terminated the contract of back Tom Arscott.

Sharks chief executive Jon Dorsett said in a brief statement that the decision followed a disciplinary investigation and hearing.

Arscott had been suspended since January 4th over an alleged leak of information to Bristol ahead of the clubs’ Premiership clash three days earlier.

Dorsett said: “Sale Sharks have today terminated the contract of Tom Arscott with immediate effect following a disciplinary investigation and hearing.

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“No further comment will be made in accordance with the club’s disciplinary procedure.”

Sale initially suspended 29-year-old wing Arscott, who joined the club from London Welsh in 2013, after his team-mates expressed concerns to the north west club's director of rugby Steve Diamond.

Earlier this week, it emerged the Rugby Football Union was investigating a complaint made by Sale that related to “the passing of information to the opposition team” ahead of the AJ Bell Stadium fixture against Bristol on January 1st.

Bristol subsequently said that Arscott met his brother Luke – a Bristol player – at the club’s hotel on New Year’s Eve.

But Bristol also insisted that “nothing of any sporting value” was passed on to coaching staff and that they were “absolutely confident of no wrongdoing”.

When Diamond was questioned about the situation on Tuesday of this week, he revealed that Tom Arscott had been suspended since January 4th.

“We investigated it internally and we are going through a disciplinary, and under the regulations, we have to report it (to the RFU), so we did that,” Diamond said.

When then asked how disruptive it had been for the rest of his squad, Diamond, whose side have lost their last 10 matches in all competitions, added: “The squad are galvanised. They came to me with the problem. I knew nothing about it. And I reacted to that – senior players coming to me.

“The squad picked it up, came and saw me, asked what should be done, and we had to go down this route.

“I think if you do your own analysis, you probably don’t need the information, because teams do the same most weeks.

“But in the same breath, I think there is an element of trust you need, and loyalty. And we will see where that’s at.

“I think when you sign a professional contract, team information is sacrosanct to the team’s performance and that can’t be discussed, certainly with opposition teams. I think that is the top and bottom of it.

“I think it’s worded (in contracts), words to that effect, that the passing of information is forbidden.”

Bristol won the match 24-23 after trailing by 15 points in the first-half.

Neither Arscott brother played in the game, with Tom not included in Sale’s 23-man squad and Luke an unused replacement in Bristol’s.

In Bristol’s statement, which was read out by head coach Mark Tainton at the club’s scheduled weekly press conference on Tuesday, the club said it was “entirely comfortable” they had done nothing wrong.

Tainton said: “Tom Arscott and Luke Arscott met on New Year’s Eve at the team hotel, which is not unusual for family living in different parts of the country to meet up.

“Following the conversation between the brothers, nothing was said or passed to the Bristol coaches of any sporting value, nor did it change the strategy in which we approached the game in any way, shape or form.

“As a club, we are entirely confident we have not acted in a way that is against the spirit and values of rugby.”

England Under-19 international Tom Arscott is a former Bristol player, and in addition to Sale and London Welsh, he also had spells with Worcester and his home-town club Plymouth.

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