Dave Craven: Mindless minority put Tigers' Super League future at stake

Their decision to fine Castleford 40,000 after a section of fans taunted Crusaders' Gareth Thomas about his sexuality has been hailed as "historic" and the player acknowledges it sends an "amazing message".

It certainly sets a precedent and the governing body have been proudly highlighting how forcefully they have worked to address the issue, which, thankfully, is extremely rare in rugby league.

But it remains to be seen whether they have been too heavy-handed with their punishment.

The club will contest that the abuse aimed at Thomas was minimal and over in seconds. I was not at the game but colleagues admit they could not hear anything from the press bench and neither could the tannoy operator, who would automatically have played a recorded 'Respect' message which is aired whenever there is any abusive language at The Jungle.

Obviously, it does not make it right, but, because it was so brief, it was impossible to spot who the offenders were so how could Castleford possibly respond?

The RFL will argue their subsequent investigation was poor and it is the second time in a year Castleford have failed to control their supporters.

The club were fined 40,000 – 20,000 suspended but now needing to be paid – in September after fans launched bottles onto the pitch and tried attacking the match officials' dressing room following a controversial loss against Catalans.

Castleford have made improvements since, including informing fans of a number to text if they are aware of any trouble which will see a steward act immediately.

The Tigers, who do so much with their community work to make The Jungle a colourful and family-friendly venue, seem certain to appeal the severity of the fine.

Perhaps a smaller punishment would have sufficed and still given the RFL the widespread publicity to show they are tackling the issue seriously.

But it is not the RFL that Castleford should be pleading to. It should be those mindless few fans whose idiocy led to the furore.

They were possibly among the few who caused the problems against Catalans and were angrily surrounding the boardroom a few weeks ago calling to sack the board while demanding the head of coach Terry Matterson after a poor run.

One of their complaints was they wanted more investment in Castleford's depleted playing squad. I wonder if they comprehend that Matterson's budget for next season's personnel has effectively been slashed by 60,000, possibly 80,000 if the club's support fall out of line again during the next 12 months.

Castleford are not Warrington, where millionaire owner Simon Moran – who annually helps finance a squad up to the salary cap limit – would simply write a cheque for such an amount without batting an eyelid. Castleford have to scrape for every penny to provide the club for its town and now, because of the actions of a few imbeciles, they will likely suffer where it matters most – on the pitch. A sum of 60,000 would cover a very good Super League player or possibly two average members.

Add in the fact that the Tigers are inevitably – given they are yet to start work on a proposed new stadium – one of the clubs nervously sweating on whether they will be awarded a new licence next year, and this latest run-in with the league will not sit pretty in their application.

Losing a player is unfortunate, losing their Super League spot would be a disaster.