{"id":301024,"date":"2023-11-30T22:24:50","date_gmt":"2023-11-30T22:24:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/?p=301024"},"modified":"2023-11-30T22:24:50","modified_gmt":"2023-11-30T22:24:50","slug":"saracens-boss-mark-mccall-hits-out-at-shameful-abuse-of-owen-farrell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/rugby-union\/saracens-boss-mark-mccall-hits-out-at-shameful-abuse-of-owen-farrell\/","title":{"rendered":"Saracens boss\u00a0Mark McCall hits out at &apos;shameful&apos; abuse of\u00a0Owen Farrell"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>Saracens boss Mark McCall hits out at &#8216;shameful&#8217; abuse of Owen Farrell and insists that the England skipper&#8217;s decision to step away from international rugby to focus on his and his family&#8217;s mental well-being should be a wake-up call for the game<\/h1>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Saracens boss\u00a0Mark McCall believes Farrell&#8217;s decision should be a wake up call<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><span>The England captain announced that he won&#8217;t play in next year&#8217;s Six Nations\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span>He took the decision to step away to protect his and his family\u2019s mental health\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Owen Farrell\u2019s decision to step away from Test rugby to prioritise his and his family\u2019s mental health must be a wake-up call for the game, according to his Saracens boss Mark McCall.<\/p>\n<p>England captain Farrell caused a major shock on Wednesday when he announced he won\u2019t play in next year\u2019s Six Nations after being targeted by online trolls.<\/p>\n<p>And yesterday, the 32-year-old\u2019s club boss hit out at the treatment of a player he has worked with for 15 years.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018It is shameful,\u2019 McCall said of the flak Farrell has received. \u2018Rugby probably does (need to do something). This is a wake-up call for all concerned.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Online abuse is a growing and worrying problem in rugby. Farrell was targeted after being sent off while on England duty in a World Cup warm-up match with Wales this summer. He was eventually banned and missed the start of the tournament.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/11\/30\/20\/78440831-12811515-image-a-32_1701376821759.jpg\" height=\"382\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Saracens boss Mark McCall believes Farrell \u2019s decision\u00a0must be a wake-up call for the game<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/11\/30\/20\/78391205-12811515-image-a-31_1701376757066.jpg\" height=\"428\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Farrell stepped away from England duty to prioritise his family&#8217;s mental well-being<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/11\/30\/20\/78376775-0-Fans_of_both_England_and_rival_nations_subjected_the_English_10_-a-30_1701376625180.jpg\" height=\"426\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>England captain Farrell caused a major shock on Wednesday when he announced he won\u2019t play in next year\u2019s Six Nations\u00a0after being targeted by online trolls<\/p>\n<p>When he did play in France, the No 10 was booed loudly by some England fans.<\/p>\n<p>English referee Wayne Barnes retired after taking charge of the final between New Zealand and South Africa and cited the impact of trolls on him and his family as a reason for his decision.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018There\u2019s no way a referee should face what Wayne faced and there\u2019s no way a player or a person like Owen should have to face what he\u2019s faced over a longer period of time,\u2019 said Saracens director of rugby McCall. \u2018I\u2019ve worked with Owen every day for 15 years. He\u2019s a family man. They\u2019ve always come first.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018On top of that, he\u2019s a brilliant, caring, supportive team-mate and a loyal friend to many. He\u2019s a very good, decent human being. That\u2019s the person I know. His happiness, and his family\u2019s, is the most important thing. He\u2019ll have the club\u2019s full support going forward as always.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Farrell intends to keep on playing for Saracens despite taking a break from England duty.<\/p>\n<p>McCall will make a call today on whether Farrell, who is struggling with a knee injury, faces Northampton tomorrow.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018There\u2019s only so much someone can take,\u2019 said McCall. \u2018It\u2019s remarkable he played the way he played during the World Cup if we take into account how he was feeling. He\u2019s a person who is right on top of his game at the moment, yet he and his family have been made to feel the way they feel.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/11\/30\/20\/74301381-12811515-Owen_Farrell_was_sent_off_for_a_high_tackle_on_Taine_Basham_duri-a-33_1701376924525.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Owen Farrell was sent off for a high tackle on Taine Basham during England&#8217;s win over Wales<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/11\/30\/20\/74252165-12811515-A_disciplinary_panel_on_decided_to_rescind_the_red_card_after_th-a-34_1701376927984.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>He was\u00a0Farrell was targeted after the incident before England&#8217;s run to the World Cup sem-finals<\/p>\n<p>\u2018I\u2019m worried about Owen. We want him to be OK and happy. Clearly, he hasn\u2019t been. I don\u2019t know what he\u2019s done, honestly, to deserve how he has been treated. He has a lot of friends, team-mates, and staff members who he trusts at the club. I\u2019m sure they will all be there.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018The fact he opened up to us about how he was feeling a while back shows that. Now he won\u2019t be playing for England in February and March, he can make a plan about what he does in those months when we don\u2019t have matches. That\u2019s new for him. But he\u2019s keen to get on with our season.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Farrell\u2019s decision to step away from England duty leaves national head coach Steve Borthwick with a huge void to fill.<\/p>\n<p>As well as being skipper, Farrell is England\u2019s record points-scorer and has 112 caps for his country plus the experience of three Lions tours. George Ford will be his most likely fly-half replacement for the Six Nations but who steps in for him as captain is less clear.<\/p>\n<p>Prop Ellis Genge has previous experience of the role, and, like Ford, was a vice-captain to Farrell at the World Cup where England finished third.<\/p>\n<p>Courtney Lawes, another vice-captain in France, has now retired from international rugby and has already ruled out a return.<\/p>\n<p>McCall admitted he had been left angry by the circumstances that forced Farrell into the decision he made. He also didn\u2019t rule out Farrell returning to England duty in the future.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/11\/30\/20\/78441039-12811515-image-a-35_1701377082497.jpg\" height=\"681\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Farrell intends to keep on playing for Saracens despite taking a break from England duty\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/11\/30\/20\/78441061-12811515-image-a-36_1701377129198.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Farrell\u2019s decision to step away from England duty leaves national head coach Steve Borthwick with a huge void to fill<\/p>\n<p>\u2018His happiness and well-being are paramount,\u2019 said McCall. \u2018If that, in time, involves returning to the international fold then so be it. If he wants to go back after a break and it\u2019s something that he enjoys and loves, then good for him.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018If he doesn\u2019t want to in six, eight months\u2019 time then we\u2019ll support that, too. He has nothing to prove.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018All those caps and being captain wasn\u2019t enough for some people. Certainly, we need to make sure we\u2019re checking in all the time with him. Like Steve Borthwick said, it was courageous of him to open up. I admire Owen for many reasons anyway, but even more for doing this. I certainly didn\u2019t try to persuade him to change his decision and I\u2019m pretty sure Steve didn\u2019t either.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Down the years he has been made to feel he has done something much worse than he has done. Every single thing has been scrutinised and that doesn\u2019t happen with other players. You might say \u201cHe\u2019s the England captain\u201d but I\u2019m not sure England captains have faced the level of scrutiny he has.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Very rarely is it positive and we\u2019re talking about someone who is a model professional who cares deeply about what he does and who he does it with.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018He has been portrayed in a way that doesn\u2019t fit the person that people close to him know.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/sport\/rugbyunion\/article-12811515\/Saracens-boss-Mark-McCall-hits-shameful-abuse-Owen-Farrell-insists-England-skippers-decision-step-away-international-rugby-focus-familys-mental-wake-call-game.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Saracens boss Mark McCall hits out at &#8216;shameful&#8217; abuse of Owen Farrell and insists that the England skipper&#8217;s decision to <span class=\"more-text\">&hellip;<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":301023,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Saracens boss\u00a0Mark McCall hits out at &amp;apos;shameful&amp;apos; 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