The Rugby Football League has received multiple anonymous whistleblowing complaints containing historical allegations of sexism and misogyny in the workplace.
The complaints come amid turmoil in the English game’s governing body for weeks, with the chair, Simon Johnson, and three female directors resigning this month and the Bradford Bulls chairman, Nigel Wood, appointed to head a “club-led strategic review” of the sport after a bitter power struggle.
The Guardian has learned that:
Several formal complaints have been made in the past fortnight alleging a historical sexist culture and the use of misogynistic language.
Sport England, which is providing £11.9m of government funding to the RFL over five years until 2027, has been made aware of the complaints, with senior officials expressing concerns.
Australia’s National Rugby League is unhappy about the RFL’s board changes, leading to fears they could jeopardise its plans to buy a stake in Super League.
The International Rugby League board is considering removing England’s seat from the 10-strong board that runs the international game.
The complaints are understood to have been made anonymously a fortnight ago via the RFL’s whistleblowing email address. The RFL chief executive, Tony Sutton, is aware of the complaints and is taking them seriously.
Sutton has also told RFL staff that anyone else with concerns should feel safe to raise them with him in person, or via the whistleblowing hotline. The RFL has yet to open a formal investigation, but a source at the governing body told the Guardian it is likely to do so in line with whistleblowing policy.
An RFL spokesperson told the Guardian: “Details of our internal complaints procedures are confidential.”
The complaints follow the circulation of a letter signed by “The Women of the RFL and RL Commercial”, published by the website rugbyleague.com. The anonymous authors described a “pattern of misogyny, bullying, and dismissive behaviour toward women” by men working in the sport.
“Over time we have gathered extensive evidence of inappropriate behaviour, including misogynistic comments and demeaning actions by a small group of men within the wider sport – behaviour that has no place in our future,” the letter stated.
“Additionally, we have observed representatives of the sport publicly berating and belittling women, perpetuating a culture of disrespect and inequality.”
In response to the letter an RFL spokesperson said: “We have whistleblowing procedures and confidentiality is part of that process.”
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The whistleblowing complaints follow weeks of in-fighting in rugby league, which resulted in the resignation of Johnson as the RFL chair, with three female directors, Sandy Lindsay, Dr Cherrie Daley and Julia Newton, also stepping down.
Wood was chief executive of the RFL from 2008 to 2018. His return to the RFL board was pushed by several Super League clubs led by Leigh and Leeds, disillusioned with the existing RFL leadership over a number of issues, particularly the declining value of the TV contract with Sky Sports and their handling of the financial crisis at Salford Red Devils.
Before this month’s board changes the RFL wrote to the clubs warning that Wood’s proposed return could have “catastrophic financial consequences” as it would lead to “multiple breaches” of Sport England’s governance code, due to a perceived lack of independence as a result of his position at Bradford.
A new interim board was therefore appointed by the RFL last week to ensure compliance with the code, with Wood, Sutton and the finance director, Rob Graham, becoming executive directors alongside five independent non-executive directors. The new board will meet for the first time on 1 April.
The Guardian has learned, however, that rugby league’s Australian powerbrokers are distinctly unimpressed with the RFL’s board changes.
This is a pivotal moment for the sport given the NRL is seriously considering buying a stake in Super League after the successful Las Vegas roadshow this month involving four NRL clubs, plus Wigan and Warrington. Significantly, the latter clubs abstained from a Super League vote to appoint Wood to lead the strategic review.
“Super League are trying to attract investment, but they now seem more interested in fighting among themselves,” an NRL source said. “This will not help. We have built strong relationships with the RFL and Super League recently, and that has now been jeopardised at the worst possible time.”
There is also an international dimension the English game’s civil war. As RFL chair Johnson had a seat on the IRL board, which runs the international game, but sources at the IRL have indicated he may not be replaced.
