Footballer Lee Steele 'released' for nasty Gareth Thomas tweet

Gareth Thomas

Openly gay rugby star Gareth Thomas is a cast member in the current season of Britain's Celebrity Big Brother.

That prompted pro rugby player Lee Steele to tweet: "I wouldn’t fancy the bed next to Gareth Thomas #padlockedasshole."

The club said its officials had met to discuss the comment last night and posted a short statement on the club website this morning. It said it had issued the following statement to the FA: “The Oxford City board have decided to release Lee Steele in view of his recent comment via social media which is considered seriously contrary to the ethos of the club.”

Mike Ford, the club’s manager, told the BBC sacking Steele was the hardest thing he had ever had to do in his career, but that he had to “pay for his error of judgement”.

Rugby star and gay ally Ben Cohen issued a statement saying, "If you are a sportsman you're a role model and people look up to you no matter what division you're in." However Cohen stopped short of endorsing Steele's dismissal.