Joe Marler’s wife branded him a ‘moron’ after England star called opponent’s cancer-battling mum ‘f***ing w****’

JOE MARLER'S wife labelled her husband a "moron" following the England star's latest controversy.

Marler sparked a mass brawl when he called a rival's cancer-battling mother a "f***ing w****".

The Harlequins prop's comment prompted a furious reaction from Bristol ace Jake Heenan during the Bears' 15-12 win at The Stoop on December 27.

The Bristol flanker could be heard saying on referee Karl Dickson's microphone: "Karl, Karl, my mum is in hospital."

Marler, 32, was slapped with a two-week ban by the RFU with a further four suspended after a disciplinary panel reviewed the footage.

He apologised on social media for his "p*** poor" remark and is said to have reached out to Heenan personally.

And now the 83-cap England man has explained himself on his - reiterating his regret at his words and the reaction from his own spouse Daisy.

Marler said: "I've f***ed it all up again.

"I'm really sorry to Jake and his family and also to my team-mates and the club because they must really now be at a point where they're thinking, 'Here we go again.'

"At what point do you go, 'Yeah, you can say sorry, mate, but just stop doing it?' I guess this is the point.

"I'm usually better than just calling someone's mum a w****.

"Stuff like this is said. This is the norm. That may not be an excuse, but it is kind of a reason that you think, 'Well, it's normalised.'

"Daisy turned round to me and she said, 'You're an idiot, aren't you? You're just a moron.'

"I said, 'What do you mean? I thought you were meant to defend me.'

"And she said, 'Why am I defending you? That's not even a funny attempt. Why don't you just stop doing it? Or, if you feel the need to do it, just don't bring family members into it. You never know what's going on in people's lives and it doesn't mean it's not going to affect other people.'

"I said, 'You're absolutely spot on.'"

Marler described his antics as "fake tough-guy stuff" and added: "We always have a choice - it's about what I can do to make this good for me moving forward.

"I have not got long left being able to play the game. I want to use whatever time I have left to actually embrace it."

This incident is the latest on a long rap sheet in rugby for Marler.

Among his other misdemeanours include fighting on the pitch, labelling Samson Lee a "gypsy boy", kicking an opponent in the head and calling former Australia coach Bob Dwyer a "w*****" on Twitter.

However, his most high-profile mistake that landed him with a ten-week ban was when he grabbed Alun Wyn Jones' testicles during a Six Nations match in 2020.