Bum deal: Rugby League star Kenny Edwards SUSPENDED for ‘inserting finger in opponent’s bottom’ during game

Huddersfield forward Kenny Edwards is facing a 10-game spell on the sidelines after a disciplinary panel found him guilty of "inserting his finger up the bottom" of an opposing player during a recent game.

New Zealand's Edwards was cited by referee Ben Thaler after Huddersfield's 50-12 shellacking by the Catalans Dragons last week following an official complaint by Dragons prop Sam Kasiano, who alleged that Edwards had inserted a digit up his rear-end during the game. 

The Kiwi was subsequently charged by Rugby Football League's match review panel with a Grade F charge – the most serious action available for possible sanctions – for  "other contrary behavior".

The matter was then processed by an independent tribunal who decided on the 10-game ban following a hearing on Wednesday. The ban is two games longer than the minimum charge for such an incident.

Edwards, who formerly represented the Dragons, pleaded guilty to the charge and was also hit with a £500 [around $688] fine for his actions.

Incredibly, this isn't the first time that a Rugby League player has been sanctioned for a similar offence. Catalans forward Joel Tomkins was handed an eight-game ban for a similar transgression last year, while both Tommy Makinson, of St Helens, and Warrington’s Tom Linehan were issued with five and eight-game suspensions respectively for squeezing an opponent's testicles during a game. 

Edwards, meanwhile, had attempted to defend himself from the charges by citing his longstanding friendship with Kasiano, who had also spoken on behalf of Edwards in the media following the incident. 

His subsequent ban is among the lengthiest handed out recently by Rugby League chiefs – and you would suspect will lead to Edwards and his peers being a bit more careful where they put their hands in future when things get hot and heavy on the pitch.