England prop Joe Marler has deleted his twitter account today, reportedly due to the amount of abuse he has been receiving,
It comes after the forward went viral for all the wrong reasons over the weekend.
The 29-year-old, who is one of English rugby’s best-known players inside and outside the sport, was shown on television replays tweaking the front of the shorts of Wales captain Alun Wyn Jones during a mass scuffle early in England’s 33-30 win at Twickenham on Saturday.
If Marler’s offence is proved, he faces a ban with a low-end entry point of 12 weeks, a period that would rule him out until the final round of Premiership matches in June.
Peter Ferguson, the citing commissioner from Ireland, took a statement from Jones after the match, and the Welsh lock said that World Rugby should look at the incident.
He will find out his ban, along with Manu Tuilagi later today.
Harlequins head of rugby Paul Gustard, speaking ahead of Sunday's Premiership Rugby Cup final against Sale, has called for perspective over the incident.
"The furore over this incident doesn't seem to be mirrored in the same amount of media coverage and people talking about the French kid (Mohammed Haouas against Scotland on Sunday) that could have broken someone's jaw with a punch," Gustard said.
"Or a vicious tackle with no arms. Or whatever. That's the frustration for me because the safety of players is paramount.
Rugby Players Who Quit Twitter:
#1. Nathan Hughes
The England back-rower disabled his Twitter after a tweet led to him receiving a longer ban.
Hughes was given an extended six-week ban, missing three November Tests, after slamming a disciplinary hearing as a "joke" on Twitter.
Hughes's case, following a citing for punching Gloucester's Lewis Ludlow in the Premiership on October 6, was adjourned after the back-row forward tweeted "what a joke" during the initial hearing on October 10.
That led officials to add two weeks to what had been an original four-week suspension, meaning Hughes is now set to miss the Twickenham Tests against South Africa (November 3), New Zealand (November 10) and Japan (November 17).
#2. Nick De Luca
The former Scotland scrum-half cancelled his Twitter account in 2012 after being made a hate figure by a group of fans. The player, sin-binned in Scotland's defeat against Wales, took the decision to withdraw from the social networking site after receiving a torrent of abuse. The messages included insults of a highly personal nature.
#3. Curtis Sironen
Kids, don't do the dirt on your boyfriend/girlfriend. It's never a good idea.
While we don't know for sure that NRL star Curtis Sironen was unfaithful to his girlfriend, the goings-on on the player's Twitter account this weekend would suggest that just may be the case.
A picture, appearing to show the Wests Tigers player in bed with a naked woman who was not Sironen's girlfriend, popped up on his Twitter account with the caption: "Before I make excuses this is why my girlfriend who is tattooed on my left arm left me."
The player obviously deleted his page and we can't say we blame him.
#4. Paddy Jackson
The Ireland fly-half came off Twitter due to abuse during his high profile rape case, where he was found innocent, but has since returned. However, his profile is locked to the public now as a result.
#5. Mike Brown
Despite not deactivating his account, the England fullback stopped using Twitter because of the abuse he has received.