RUGBY LEAGUE; Castleford cry foul over ban

Castleford, still angry about the loophole which allowed Martin Offiah to play against them on Sunday, have cried foul again over Dean Sampson's suspension.

Castleford have been told that England's match against Wales, for which he was included in the squad, will not count towards the four-match suspension their prop forward is serving. That has infuriated the club, especially in view of the fact that last autumn's second Test against Australia counted towards Shaun Edwards' ban, after his sending-off at Wembley.

"Our coach, John Joyner, is very irate about it, and I will be bringing it up at the Rugby League Council," the Castleford chairman, Eddie Ashton, said. The League's spokesman, Neil Tunnicliffe, said that the England match did not count towards Sampson'sban because he had been named in the squad but not the team.

British clubs are due to vote on the ban, and consider proposals for a salary cap next Wednesday, but the association hopes to meet the League's chief executive, Maurice Lindsay, beforehand to discuss those and other matters.