Sorry Graeme Swann not punished for controversial Facebook rape remark

 
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Tom Collomosse19 December 2013

Graeme Swann has escaped a fine from England cricket bosses after making an obscene remark on a social networking site.

The off-spinner has already apologised on his Twitter account for writing “a**e‑raped” on a Facebook page belonging to his brother, Alec.

“Sorry to anyone who was offended by my comments in the papers,” Swann told his 612,000 Twitter followers. “Crass and thoughtless of me in the extreme.” The England and Wales Cricket Board have decided he will face no further action, however.

Referring to Australia’s Ashes‑clinching victory over England at the WACA on Tuesday, Swann responded to a post from his brother about the band Shed Seven, saying he would have preferred to be at their concert in Northampton.

“Rather have been there than being a**e-raped in Perth!” Swann wrote. Because his brother’s profile is not private and therefore openly accessible, it was not long before Swann’s comments reached the public domain.

The 34-year-old was criticised heavily by Yvonne Traynor, chief executive of the charity Rape Crisis.

“We are appalled that Graeme Swann equates a cricket match with the devastatingly serious crime of rape,” she said.

“It is the duty of a people in the public eye to make sure their own distorted views are kept to themselves and not shared with the general public.

“These comments lack compassion and intelligence, and he should apologise to anyone who has suffered from this heinous crime.”

Swann (left) has been one of England’s best players in the last five years but has had a poor tour, taking only seven wickets in the Test series.

A regular user of Twitter, the 34‑year-old is not the first England cricketer to find himself in trouble because of views expressed on social networking sites.

Kevin Pietersen was fined for a profane outburst on Twitter in 2010 after being left out of England’s one‑day squad for a series against Pakistan, and he was hit in the pocket again by the ECB two years later for comments made about television commentator and former England batsman Nick Knight.

Meanwhile, the frosty relationship between Michael Clarke and Shane Watson seems to have thawed with the Australia captain hailing the all‑rounder’s team spirit.

In court papers submitted in July, sacked Australia coach Mickey Arthur alleged Clarke had described Watson as a “cancer” on the team.

However, Clarke today praised Watson’s approach in the second innings of the Perth Test where he plundered 73 runs from 40 balls en route to a century. Clarke said: “He knew we were trying to score as many runs as we could before our declaration so he put the team first.”

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