Leigh Leopards owner speaks out on Tesi Niu fan chants as RFL urged to step in

Leigh Leopards owner Derek Beaumont has called on fans to revoke from shouting inappropriate chants towards the club’s centre, Tesi Niu.

Beaumont, as part of a 16-minute update where he also speaks about the club’s start to the season, the matchday entertainment and more, felt like he had to address an ongoing issue that he believes is “not right.”

Prior to the season beginning, a message appeared on Niu’s own Instagram account from a person purporting to his partner, accusing the Leigh player of abuse with images also being posted.

The Instagram account was deleted a short time after, and it must be stated that no charges have been brought against Niu and there has been no claim made to the police surrounding the matter.

The incident has been dealt with internally, with Beaumont revealing in January that “the player’s account was accessed externally and without his knowledge or consent and deleted a short period thereafter” and “there is no official complaint to the club regarding the player nor to any relevant authorities.”

On the back of this, opposition fans have been targeting the Leigh player with chants, something that Beaumont has urged the RFL to handle due to their misleading and abusive nature.

The Leopards owner said: “We’ve got to remember that the players playing this game are human beings and generally speaking they’re young men. One of our players, Tesi Niu, has been coming in for stick that I know is not right.

“Even if it was, it isn’t right to abuse somebody in such a way because it is abuse. I’ve basically called upon the RFL that they ought to crack down on that… There’s no place for that kind of thing. It’s a family sport. A lot of children come. It’s about entertainment. It’s about music.”

Whilst the club are not saying that fans cannot have “banter” with the players on the field, Beaumont believes that the chants towards Niu have crossed a line.

He continued: “Of course we want the fans to sing. Of course we want a bit of banter. But to single an individual out around facts that you have no genuine knowledge about…

“I just think the noise around Tesi, it’s gone on for too long and it’s too much and when it has a serious negative impact on a person’s wellbeing and mental health then as the owner of the club it’s my right to put pressure on the RFL that they should be taking measures that reinforce the message that we are a family sport and we don’t tolerate that kind of abuse of players or teams.”

In a passionate plea to stop fans from hurling the “abuse”, the Leigh boss confirmed that any further chants of a similar nature at the Leigh Sports Village will be dealt with accordingly.

He explained: “I can say quite categorically that anybody coming to LSV that behaves in that way in the away end, they will be notified that that can’t continue and if it does continue they’ll be ejected. It’s a clear simple message, if that’s what you want to do when you get here just don’t come because we’d rather you not be here.

“We will protect our own players that need protecting when we know the facts. When I’ve spoke to a player’s wife where the so-called issues have risen with and I know the full facts and her facts and her version then I’ll support the correct outcome and I’ll support the player and everybody else.

“People have to trust the process, away fans won’t want to do that, that’s up to them. [They can] draw their own conclusions and do what they want but the fact of the matter is you have to be humane, you have to be accountable and you have to be part of a family sport and when you’re in our stadium, part of our entertainment and our fun, we don’t welcome that. So if you want to do it, just don’t come.”

Super League Rivals Round madness, broken video referee system and Challenge Cup predictions – Click here to watch the latest episode of the Serious About Rugby League Show