Rugby player Corey Norman will be sidelined for eight matches
Banned: Corey Norman. © Lee Parker / CameraSport via Getty Images
Corey Norman will be out of action for eight rugby league matches after being suspended for sticking his fingers up a rival’s backside when his team Toulouse took on Warrington Wolves in the Super League.
Norman is an ex-NRL and Queensland State of Origin player in his homeland Australia, but currently plies his trade in France.
As footage has shown, he reached between the legs of Wolves player Oliver Holmes during the 32-18 loss to the English team and then moved his “left arm and hand over the top of” Holmes and “on to his buttocks,” a ruling said.
Norman pleaded not guilty to the accusations but the chair of his tribunal, Sarah Wright, and two former players acting as side members were “entirely satisfied” that Norman’s move was intentional.
I just have 1 question after watching this Corey Norman bum poke…Why is he smiling like that? 🤔😆😂 pic.twitter.com/SZvQgp7llO
— matt barbosa (@captainbarbs1) August 16, 2022
The 31-year-old has also been hit with a £500 ($605) fine for “other contrary behavior” as part of a Grade F charge.
“At no point does the footage show a grabbing of the shorts to push Oliver Holmes down as described by Corey Norman,” the ruling added, with Holmes having complained immediately after the act and also helping the tribunal reach their decision with a statement.
Compared to other similar incidents, Norman got off lightly with just an eight-match ban.
Last year, New Zealander Kenny Edwards was barred from playing for the Catalan Dragons for 10 matches when committing the same sort of act, and 2001 saw ex-Australia international John Hopoate banned for 12 games after sticking his fingers up three North Queensland players’ backsides during a match.
As there are only four games left in their campaign, Norman will miss the rest of the season with his current team.
He joined Toulouse in April and had started all 11 matches since then, but his contract which runs until the end of the 2022 term has not yet been renewed.
If Norman is offered more time at the Stade Ernest-Wallon, though, his ban would stretch into next year.
