Joe Marler has deleted his Twitter account

England prop Joe Marler has taken drastic action on Twitter after being handed a 10-week ban by a Six Nations disciplinary panel in Dublin.

Marler was found guilty of foul play, namely that he “grabbed, twisted or squeezed the genitals of Wales’ Alun Wyn Jones Welsh” in the first half of the match in last weekends Six Nations clash at Twickenham.

An independent disciplinary committee heard submissions from Marler at a meeting in Dublin and found he had committed foul play that warranted a red card.

The committee reduced a potential 12-week sanction by three weeks to take account of mitigating factors but then added a week because of Marler’s most recent disciplinary record.

“Marler is therefore suspended for 10 weeks and, given his playing schedule, is free to resume playing on Monday, 8 June 2020,” the RFU said in a statement.

The incident has been the talk of the rugby community since. Marler only public response to the debacle was to Tweet: ‘B******. Absolute b*******’.

Now Marler has taken more drastic action, purging all the Tweets from his Twitter account and appearing to delete the account entirely. Visitors to his Twitter page will no Tweets and an empty page.

It is quite possible that his ironic Tweet about the incident was taken into account by the panel and Marler has seen fit to remove himself from the platform.

The loosehead has also been on the receiving end of a deluge of abuse arising from his on-field actions, which some critics have likened to assault.

Meanwhile teammate Manu Tuilagi, who was shown a red card late in the match for a dangerous tackle, will have to serve a four-week suspension.

The committee reduced Tuilagi’s six-week suspension by two weeks to take account of mitigating factors, including good conduct and immediate remorse.

A citing complaint against England flanker Courtney Lawes, who was accused of a dangerous tackle on Jones, was not upheld because it had not warranted a red card.

additional reporting AP

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