NRL star set to avoid ban despite sticking finger up player's bum during tackle
A rugby league player will NOT be banned for sticking his finger up another star's bum.
The bizarre incident happened during Penrith Panthers' 32-18 defeat to Parramatta Eels in Australia's National Rugby League (NRL) on Thursday night. Panthers ace Soni Luke slipped a finger up the bum of Parramatta's J'maine Hopgood, leaving fans baffled.
The incident is reminiscent of when former Wests Tigers bad boy John Hopoate stuck a finger up the bums of THREE North Queensland Cowboys players in 2001. Hopoate was criticised but insisted he was "proud" of his antics in 2019.
Luke and Hopgood are former team-mates after the latter left the Panthers earlier this year. Luke has apologised to his rival and no action will be taken by the NRL, although they have warned the star about his future conduct.
"The Match Review Committee has today issued the Panthers with a concerning act notice following the actions of Soni Luke," said an NRL spokesperson.
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NRL fans were quick to compare Luke to Hopoate after a video clip of Thursday night's incident went viral. "What in the John Hopoate is going on here?" asked one fan.
Some supporters have called for Luke to be banned, just like Hopoate was 22 years ago. He was suspended for 12 weeks after an investigation into his bum-poking antics. Cowboys players Peter Jones and Glenn Morrison both spoke about Hopoate's fingers during a tribunal, while fellow start Paul Bowman also claimed his backside had been breached.
"In 45 years of involvement with rugby league I've never come across a more disgusting allegation," said Jim Hall, who was the NRL's commissioner at the time.
John Hopoate used to stick fingers up bumsWhat do you make of this incident? Let us know in the comments below!
Other players have also accused Hopoate of using the grim tactic, but he's shown little remorse. "I'm proud of my finger antics," Hopoate told ANZ Sports Scene in 2019.
"You can either embrace it and make it a joke, or you'll be getting angry your whole life because people will be hammering you about it. You just need to embrace it. When you make it a joke, people go, 'Oh, he doesn't care'. And they forget about it."
Hopoate crudely joked he was "doing a degree as a prostate cancer doctor". He added: "I couldn't do my courses because I was playing full-time footy, I had practice on the field and that's what I was doing. I was just raising awareness for prostate cancer.
"The NRL suspended me but I took the game global. They should've paid me. People in India knew who I was, 'The finger man'."
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