Sale Sharks suspend winger Tom Arscott

Sale Sharks have suspended winger Tom Arscott after accusation of him leaking information to Bristol ahead of their Aviva Premiership game on New Year's Day.

The Rugby Football Union have launched an investigation on the issue based on the complaint raised by Sale Sharks after they lost the game against Bristol 25-24 at AJ Bell Stadium.

A statement released by the Ashton Gate based club on Tuesday had head coach Mark Tainton stating that Tom, a former Bristol player met his brother, Luke in the team hotel, ahead of the game, but no information was passed on to the team management on what the discussion was about.

Further, Bristol assured that they will fully co-operate with RFU on their investigation.

When asked to comment on the matter, Steve Diamond revealed that Tom has been suspended from the club since 4th January and they are awaiting the outcome from the investigation that is being conducted by RFU.

"We investigated it internally and we are going through a disciplinary, and under the regulations, we have to report it (to the RFU), so we did that yesterday.

"It's now in the hands of the RFU."

Diamond further commented that "loyalty" is one of the key attribute of anyone, who has signed a contract with the club and expressed his disappointment on what had transpired ahead of the game against Bristol.

"I think if you do your own analysis, you probably don't need the information, because teams do the same most weeks.

"But in the same breath, I think there's an element of trust you need, and loyalty. And we'll see where that's at.

"I think when you sign a professional contract, team information is sacrosanct to the team's performance and that can't be discussed, certainly with opposition teams.

"I think that is the top and bottom of it.

"I think it's worded (in contracts), words to that effect, that the passing of information is forbidden."

Meanwhile, Tainton believes the meeting of Tom and Luke had nothing unusual and assured that his team has not breached any of the sporting value.

'We are aware of Sale contacting the RFU with regards to their complaint. We have yet to hear from RFU about this.

''From what we are aware, we are entirely comfortable that Bristol Rugby have done nothing wrong.

''Tom Arscott and Luke Arscott met on New Year's Eve at the team hotel, which is not unusual, for family living in different parts of the country to meet up.

''Following the conversation between the brothers, nothing was said or passed to the Bristol coaches of any sporting value, nor did it change the strategy in which we approached the game in any way, shape or form.

''As a club, we are entirely confident we have not acted in a way that is against the spirit and values of rugby.

''We are disappointed in how this episode has been handled so publicly, especially considering there has been no contact from Sale Sharks to date.''