Ulster rape trial: In the social media age, is it possible to hold fair trial of a sportsperson?

A trial ends at a verdict — if everything goes right. The legal questions in that trial frequently don’t.

After the acquittal in Belfast yesterday, the IRFU and Ulster Rugby issued a statement making it clear that a review of the conduct of their employees — Paddy Jackson and Stuart Olding — was postponed until after the verdict.

It is clear their employers feel that the actions of their employees — for example, the messages that the defence accepted were those of braggarts — damaged the reputation of the employers, and it is a live question whether that review may still lead to disciplinary action.