Joe Marler was suspended for two matches and fined £20,000 by World Rugby in 2016 following his 'gypsy boy' jibes in the England-Wales game during the Six nations.
Speaking to Victoria Derbyshire on BBC 2, Billy Joe Saunders added that he had discussed Marler's comments with Tyson Fury. Both were 'disgusted' by Marler's remarks.
"In our culture we’ve had this most of our lives. It’s not been so bad in the last few years. When you receive abuse on social media from Twitter and Facebook trolls it’s not so bad but when you receive it in sport it’s not acceptable.
"I’ve had it all my life but I’ve never had it in my sport from another sportsman. I was a fan of rugby and now I probably won’t watch England play rugby anymore.
"Now other people might think twice about using the term in an offensive way. There is no room for any racism is sport; especially at the standard that he is playing. I was talking about it on the phone to my friend Tyson Fury last night and we are both disgusted by it.
"I think Tyson wanted to get him in the ring and knock him out."
The 33-man England Squad Steve Borthwick Should Select For Summer Tour
It's been a decade since England's last visit to New Zealand, a challenging 2014 series under Stuart Lancaster resulting in a 3-0 defeat.
The memories of the 2008 tour aren't any sweeter, with England tasting defeat in both Tests against the All Blacks. However, a glimmer of triumph emerged in 2003, as they secured a thrilling 15-13 victory over New Zealand just before the Rugby World Cup.
In this highly anticipated tour, Borthwick's squad will face a formidable challenge with only two tests against the All Blacks, following a clash with Japan in Tokyo.
Here is the list of our predicted squad organised by their current clubs:
RUCK's England squad for the summer:
Harlequins
Joe Marler
Fin Baxter
Chandler Cunningham-South
Marcus Smith
Bristol Bears
Ellis Genge
Harry Randall
Gabriel Ibitoye
Saracens
Jamie George
Theo Dan
Maro Itoje
Ben Earl
Elliot Daly
Northampton Saints
Curtis Langdon
Alex Mitchell
Fin Smith
Tommy Freeman
George Furbank
Ollie Sleightholme
Sale Sharks
Asher Opoku-Fordjour
George Ford
Bath
Will Stuart
Sam Underhill
Alfie Barbeary
Ben Spencer
Ollie Lawrence
Leicester Tigers
Dan Cole
George Martin
Freddie Steward
Exeter Chiefs
Rusi Tuima
Henry Slade
Ethan Roots
Immanuel Feyi-Waboso
Newcastle Falcons
Guy Pepper
Guy Pepper of Newcastle Falcons during the Gallagher Premiership Rugby Match between Bath Rugby and Newcastle Falcons at the Recreation Ground on 14 October 2023. Photo: Tom Sandberg/PPAUK
Gloucester
Zach Mercer
Final whistle celebrations for Zach Mercer of Gloucester Rugby after beating Leicester Tigers during the Premiership Rugby Cup Final match between Gloucester Rugby and Leicester Tigers at Kingsholm Stadium on March 15th, 2024 in Gloucester, England. Photo by Phil Mingo/PPAUK
Joe Marler handed a six week sanction for his comments to Jake Heenan mid game. Two week ban, four weeks suspended part of the sanction.
Accompanied by pretty stern words from disciplinary panel chair Gareth Graham: