FORMER Otley RUFC player Luther Burrell has found a “sense of closure” after an independent investigation found he was the victim of racial abuse during his time at Newcastle.

Burrell’s claims in June last year have been upheld by the inquiry.

Among the evidence gathered was a post on a players’ WhatsApp group that contained a “wholly inappropriate racist term”.

The former England centre, who played for Otley in the late noughties on loan from Leeds Carnegie, is of Jamaican descent, and said he was subjected to comments about slavery, bananas and fried chicken, adding that “racial banter” had become “normalised” among team-mates.

Following the conclusion of the investigation, Burrell told BBC Sport: “Does it provide me with a sense of closure? I believe so, yes.

“It’s been a tough eight to 10 months. I was disappointed initially by the lack of support shown from some of my peers.

“It was as if my comments were being dismissed, like people needed proof, and now this has come out people will understand that what I was saying has been deemed to be the truth. And we can all hopefully move on and generate change.

“To call anybody a slave is not funny, so it was abhorrent behaviour. It was something that affects my dignity as a player, it affects me as a human and father.”

“Those who gave evidence did so without naming individuals and Luther has been consistent throughout that his aim is not to seek punishment for individuals but rather to bring about change,” an RFU statement read.

“The club has made and will continue to implement changes to its policies and procedures based on the recommendations.”