Following today's statement by the Rugby Football League, I would like to take the time out to explain why I made the difficult decision to end my appeal against the 18-month suspension imposed. Throughout this process, the RFL has aggressively fought to undermine my case, including getting a crucial witness affidavit thrown out ahead of this appeal being heard. This affidavit undermined their entire case against my conviction. Their determination to pursue this matter with such vigour against an individual coach, at a cost of tens of thousands of pounds, raises serious questions about proportionality and a total disregard for the perilous state of the sport's financial situation. But in my own personal position, the costs involved had become a major financial burden, after spending around two years of my salary in legal costs. With all the factors involved, I was left with no other choice but to protect my family home and our future, something that was becoming increasingly difficult to do as costs continued to rise. I have had to put my house up for sale to cover the costs of this process. Despite Sport Resolutions agreeing to hear my case independently - something the RFL fervently resisted - the mounting legal expenses have reached a point where I had to make a responsible decision. Taking the matter to Sport Resolutions alone came at a financial cost of £5,000, and as you can imagine, that just scratches the surface. Just to go to the one-day hearing, the barrister's costs were over £40,000. We had previously engaged with the RFL for over a month, pre-hearing, to get to a resolution, but it was to no avail. It simply became too much.
Mark Aston’s response to our statement from earlier today about his Sport Resolutions appeal outcome 👇
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