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Leicester Tigers statement: Geoff Parling 'incident'

Geoff Parling, Head Coach of Leicester Tigers looks on prior to the Gallagher PREM match between Gloucester Rugby and Leicester Tigers at Villa Park on March 28, 2026 in Birmingham, England. (Photo by Nathan Stirk/Getty Images)
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Leicester Tigers have issued a statement in athe aftermath of the Geoff Parling incident with Craig Doyle at the Slater Cup on Saturday.

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The statement includes an apology from Parling, the head coach appearing to do a u-turn after initially defending his foul-mouthed exchange with Doyle.

Parling clashed with the TNT Sports presenter before the Gallagher PREM match against Gloucester after a stunt saw newcomer Liam MacDevitt attempt a touchline conversion toward players warming up.

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The kick flew in Leicester’s direction, prompting Parling to intervene gruffly, pushing Doyle aside and saying the situation was “****ing not on.”

He later told BBC Radio Leicester that TNT had set up the segment without informing the club and that he acted to protect his players from injury risk. A TNT producer apologised to him afterward.

The club have issued a full statement on the matter this Sunday.

The Leicester Tigers statement reads: “Ahead of the Slater Cup game yesterday, an incident occured during the warm-up where TNT Sport presenters took a kick at posts under which Tigers players were warming up. Whilst this was contrary to standard practise and – as always – the well-being of those players under the posts was Geoff Parling’s primary concern, Leicester Tigers and Geoff Parling accept that the response was unnecessary and would like to apologise to everyone involved.

Geoff Parling said, “I would like to apologise for the incident pre-game yesterday – it is important we stay a family focused game and it wasn’t appropriate for viewers to see that.”

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“We have a great product in the Prem and I offer my thanks to Craig Doyle and TNT for continuing to innovate and think differently. After talking last night we’ll make sure we are fully aligned behind new ideas, including when best to use them; and keep pushing our game to new audiences.”

“Those on the ground at Villa Park have also been offered private apologies from Geoff and the club, and Tigers appreciate the apologies for the kick taking place initially.”

“Leicester Tigers hope that this matter can now be considered closed, and that attention be turned to the fantastic occasion that The Slater Cup provided once again.”

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10 Comments
J
John Breslin 44 days ago

Nice to see him apologise for his unchecked aggression and what looked to be common assault


His violence of the tongue may have forced younger viewers to turn over which is a real shame


Hope that Doyle makes a full recovery and gets any support that he may need


I also hope that MacDevitt works on his kicking as it was shocking

u
unknown 44 days ago

Obviously a statement to appease the broadcaster. However who watches the inane build up to games? Segments like that don’t interest anyone and merely kill time

G
GS 44 days ago

Agreed, though i think there are some supporters who love to see that kind of stuff. When you have people with great knowledge like Sara, Austin H, Topsy, Flats, DC etc, who know and understand the players, do we really need to listen to the likes of Mr Doyle’s rubbish ? Still it could be worse….have you seen the dross that ITV call their highlights program ?

D
Derek Murray 44 days ago

We can move on now. Nobody comes out looking good - the kick was ill-judged, and the response was clearly more than it needed to be. Apologies done.


All involved are good rugby people. Another own goal.


Although if we’re seeking publicity, this was the weekend’s winner by a distance

N
Nickers 44 days ago

Apologise for swearing on TV maybe, but these idiots were kicking balls directly into where his entire team were warming up. Getting a ball that has been booted 40m into the back of your head when you’re not expecting it could easily lead to a concussion.


TNT sport should be the ones issuing an apology. I can’t imagine what these guys were thinking. They look over and see an entire team standing right under the posts and in the in goal area, and decide to just kick the ball there anyway. Even when the ball narrowly misses someone they don’t hold their hand up to apologise or even acknowledge what they’ve just done. For all Parling knew they were about to send another one.

f
fl 45 days ago

woke nonsense!

E
Ed the Duck 44 days ago

Never a good idea to bite the hand that feeds…

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