A CYNIC could accuse the RFL of wishing to bury bad news by organising the hearing into betting allegations against Sean Long and Martin Gleeson for the same time that England kick off against Switzerland at 5pm. England’s fate in Coimbra is likely to be decided long before that of the St Helens and Great Britain pair at a firm of solicitors in Leeds, where a three-man advisory panel with unlimited powers will hear the case.
If found guilty of breaking the game’s by-laws by having bet against their own team — an allegation that has left them “stressed and traumatised”, Ian Millward, the St Helens coach, said — the question will be one of an appropriate punishment.
The panel, chaired by Judge Peter Charlesworth, can suspend them for life, as was demanded in the immediate aftermath of the newspaper story that reported the pair won £909 apiece by wagering £1,000 with Stan James, an offshore bookmaker, that Bradford Bulls would beat a weakened St Helens team by more than nine points on Easter Monday; Bradford won 54-8.
Opinion has shifted to a potential ban and fine, leaving them free for the play-offs and subsequent Tri-Nations series. St Helens, who have conducted a separate investigation to the one carried out by the RFL’s disciplinary unit and which concluded that they had a case to answer, have pleaded for “proportionality”, as there was no criminal intent.
Both players’ mental state, as described by their coach, has hardly impaired their form. Long, winner of the Lance Todd Trophy in St Helens’s Powergen Challenge Cup triumph, was the Tetley’s Super League player of the month for May, while Gleeson has been outstanding all season. “You’d be surprised the abuse they’ve copped. I feel for them,” Millward said.
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St Helens will take any separate action based on the panel’s verdict tonight, at which the club and the players will be legally represented.