SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
The Rugby Football Union (RFU) disciplinary panel has charged former Leicester Tigers defence coach Phil Blake (51), with two breaches of its anti-corruption and betting rules violation. The Australian coach will banned from coaching the sports for a six month period.
The breaches relate to bets placed by Blake on Leicester Tigers matches against RC Toulonnais in the European Champions Cup and against the Newcastle Falcons in the AVIVA Rugby Premiership.
Blake has been fined £669 the sum of his winnings and ordered to pay an additional £500 as an RFU fine, the defence coach is set to be suspended until 24 November
Christopher Quinlan QC, Chairman of the RFU disciplinary panel said: “This is the first such case that we know of in rugby union and is certainly the first brought under the relatively new regulation 17, so this is new ground.
“In arriving at the appropriate sanction we have been careful to remind ourselves that we must not make an example of Phil Blake. We have imposed a sanction which we consider fair and proportionate to what he did, while having due regard to the proper consideration of deterrence. We have sought to strike a proper balance between the competing factors and arrive at a sanction we consider to be just. We must have regard to the wider interests of the game.
“It is important that those involved in the game and the wider public understand that any breach of the anti-corruption and betting regulations will and must be treated seriously.”
