Castleford Tigers issue statement after employee's teenage daughter 'verbally abused by fan' at Hull KR game

Tigers say the teenage daughter of a club employee was “verbally abused by a male fan” and “anti-social behaviours towards our players and staff members by a minority of our fans was also witnessed”. The club are now reviewing CCTV footage to identify the individuals concerned.

The alleged abuse left the 16-year-old girl and her parents “extremely upset and disturbed” according to a statement released by Tigers today (Monday). Castleford were beaten 44-0 by Hull KR at the end of a difficult week for the Betfred Super League outfit.

Coach Ryan Carr was not present for what the club said were “personal reasons” after reports claimed he had been stood down pending an investigation. A section of fans booed certain players during the match and voiced their support for Carr, who is less than a full season into a three-year contract.

Castleford’s statement said: “During the recent fixture against Hull Kingston Rovers, a 16-year-old daughter of one of our employees was verbally abused by a male fan. This incident left both daughter and parents extremely upset and disturbed by the incident.

“Anti-social behaviours towards our players and staff members by a minority of our fans was also witnessed. We understand that everyone is frustrated with our on-field performances this season and we are working hard to improve this, however this type of conduct has no place in rugby league.

“It is wholly inconsistent with the values of Castleford Tigers RLFC and the standards upheld by the majority of our supporters. We will not tolerate any type of anti-social behaviour within our stadium.

“The vast majority of our fans behave acceptably and offer support to our club, players and staff that is the envy of many other clubs. We are currently reviewing CCTV footage to identify the individuals concerned. Rugby league is a family sport, let’s keep it this way.”