Rugby player banned from game after telling female referee to ‘get your baps out’

Casey Johnson, an Ossett RUFC player, has been barred from the game for 32 weeks after making the comments while watching one of his club’s matches.

Mr Johnson, who also plays for the club as a prop, admitted events in front of a Rugby Football Union panel.

The comments, which were made during a match earlier this year, were deemed "prejudicial to the interests of the union" and impacted the game's reputation.

The hearing, which took place in June, saw Mr Johnson handed a ban of over six months after he admitted to "abhorrent and highly offensive" comments.

The referee who was the target of Mr Johnson's comments said she was left "shocked" following the incident, with her "heartbroken and angry" parents overhearing the remarks from the crowd.

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Mr Johnson claimed he was “intoxicated” at the time and “had no real explanation for why he shouted the phrase at the match official”.

According to the panel, the nature of the comments made it a “top end” offence, with a band of 42 weeks initially imposed on the player.

However, Mr Johnson's admittance of guilt at the "earliest opportunity" saw him given a 33% reduction, bringing the ban down to 28 weeks.

A mandatory ban of four weeks was then imposed on top, as stipulated by the RFU for referee abuse.

The panel said: “It goes without saying that such a phrase shouted to a woman has no place in society, including rugby, and it plainly goes against rugby’s core values. It has the very real potential to impact on the participation of women in rugby [whether as match official, player, coach or spectator] and cannot and must not be tolerated.”

Johnson received a suspension “from playing, coaching and spectating from 1st August 2025 to 13th March 2026”.

According to the panel, the female ref, who remains anonymous, “handled the situation impeccably”, with the panel highlighting how “her ability to continue to referee the game and deal with the aftermath of the incident [has been] hugely impressive”.

In her written testimony, the female ref wrote: “I was approached by the Ossett coach after the game who told me that he had been made aware by my dad during the game of the nature of the comments that were being made,” she wrote.

“The coach profusely apologised and informed me that they had sent someone over during the game to speak to the spectators.

"After the game as I was walking to the changing rooms I was approached by the spectators’ friends who apologised on his behalf... and also apologised to both of my parents at the end of the match."