Apology after 'rape joke' made at rugby club dinner

[BBC] A rugby club has apologised over claims a speaker at a dinner event made a joke about rape. The remarks, allegedly made by Alloa Rugby Club president Alan Stewart during a speech at Musselburgh RFC, reportedly contained "racist, homophobic and sexist" material. The Scottish Rugby Union (SRU) said it was looking into the "wholly unacceptable" comments, while Musselburgh RFC said the incident had "dented the progress" made in developing women's rugby at the club.

A spokesperson for Alloa Rugby Club said "the individual referenced attended the event in a personal capacity" but they took any "distress or offence caused by the actions or words of a club member very seriously". The Alloa statement that it "would not be appropriate to comment in detail" while both "the club and the Scottish Rugby Union are reviewing the matter". "However, we recognise that there are differing accounts of what was said and the context in which it was said, and both reviews will seek to establish the facts carefully and fairly," it said.

BBC Scotland has approached Alan Stewart for comment. 'Poor judgement' The East Lothian Courier reported that several women were in tears over the alleged comments and the captain of the women's rugby team walked out of the room. Following the event, the head coach of Musselburgh's women's team, James Ferguson, resigned over the "atrocious" remarks, despite not being present at the dinner himself.

The board of Musselburgh RFC issued an apology to those who attended and were "impacted by events at our recent club dinner". The statement said: "We particularly wish to recognise and acknowledge the hurt caused to our women's team, who we are extremely proud of and to whom we are committed to providing a safe and nurturing environment. " The club apologised for the "very poor judgement of the speaker" and said he had sent a written apology.