Toulon boss, Mourad Boudjellal
Toulon’s abrasive and controversial boss Mourad Boudjellal is once again threatened to go to court, because a decision did not go his way.
According to reports in the French media Toulon are considering legal action against the two Leicester Tigers supporters involved in a row with their England loose forward Delon Armitage.
Armitage was suspended for 12 weeks as a result of a misconduct complaint lodged against him, following his club’s European Champions Cup defeat against Leicester Tigers.
The 31-year-old Englishman – whose teammate, Italian prop Martin Castrogiovanni, received a suspended four match ban and a fine for a post match rant – was found to have used offensive language towards spectators at Leicester’s Welford Road ground.
rugby365
The incident occurred when the teams were making their way to the dressing room, after Toulon’s 21-25 defeat against the Tigers.
Armitage took a wrong turn when he became embroiled in a spat with supporters.
An exchange of words led to Armitage allegedly threatening to take a supporter’s “f—— face off in the car park” before calling the assembled fans, which included children, “inbred c—s”.
But the decision to punish Armitage for his behaviour has prompted fury at Toulon, whose president, Mourad Boudjellal, has claimed he is now considering suing the fans for their part in the spat.
Asked about the decision by La Provence newspaper, Boudjellal said: “It’s incomprehensible. It’s based on two allegations. There’s no formal evidence, no official documents, not even TV images to attest the veracity of these accounts.
“We may even sue those two English supporters, for their false testimonies.”
Toulon have the right to appeal the decision to punish Armitage, which they are expected to do.
Boudjellal had previously threatened to take the IRB (now World Rugby) to court over a ruling that forces him to release players for internationals at certain stages of the year, while he also threatened to tear up the contracts of those players who opt to play for their country rather than the club.
Interesting two cases, Castrogiovani gets a suspended sentence for swearing about Cockerill, but Armatige gets 12 weeks because it was against spectators.
A few weeks ago spectators were vilified about being homophobic against Nigel Owens.
Sounds like a storm in a teacup, anybody who has ever played or attended a game knows that there is always a group of spectators that are just plain common and yobs.
@ Nortie
You mean like some of those in the oos-pawiljoen @ Moftus?
BrumbiesBoy wrote:
Ja net so, verloor net die “tus” en jy het jou naam wat hulle jou daar sal gee as jy met die trui van jou Tronkvoëlspan daar opdaag
1 @ nortie:
Hi nortie there may have been some provocation but as a professional Armitage should have known better. As far as the Castro incident vs Armitage one goes its not just such a simple comparison as you state, Armitage was accused (and found guilty by the panel) of threatening behaviour and using pretty offensive language (almost hate speech) – one wonders if this really sticks whether he could have been charged by the police for what he did… also he did not seem to plead guilty at the hearing whereas Castro may have so possible this was a factor in sentences and there is a VAST difference in the disciplinary history of these two. This piece maybe sheds a bit more light on this:
“The punishment, however, does seem excessive. The independent disciplinary committee found that the former England full-back was subject to provocation. He bit back. Is his verbal retaliation, which allegedly include such charming phrases as “inbred c—”, really worse than some on-field misdemeanours such as stamping that are designed to hurt far more than mere sensitives?
Probably not, but the EPCR undoubtedly feels that it needed to send a message. Rugby’s holier-than-thou attempt to position itself above football can sometimes grate but if Armitage’s comments were made in the vicinity of children, as initial reports suggested, then the three-month ban is entirely appropriate.
Then there is the previous of the perpetrator. Armitage resembles rugby’s version of Mario Balotelli, constantly asking “why always me?” He pleaded innocence in this case as he did in 2011 when he pushed and verbally abused a UK Sport anti-doping officer who had the misfortune of randomly selecting him for a urine test.
“Don’t you know who I am?” supposedly barked Armitage echoing the embittered cry of many a D-list celebrity in the face of an nonplussed bouncer. “His behaviour was completely unacceptable,” Jeff Blackett, the head of that disciplinary committee, reported. “It brought discredit on himself and his club and failed to uphold one of the core values of the game — respect.” Armitage appeal’s was subsequently rejected.
That was the first in a long line of trips by Armitage to the naughty chair in 2011, mainly for on-pitch offences. The following year, he was arrested and later cautioned for an assault that left a man with a split lip outside a Devon nightclub, which precipitated the end of his 26-cap England career and a move to Toulon where he has continued to win few friends.
His petulant gloating wave to Brock James in the process of scoring a try in the 2013 Heineken Cup final brought a trenchant response from Telegraph Sport columnist Brian Moore as well as catcalls from the every Gallic ground he subsequently visited with Toulon. Respected newspaper Midi Olympique even took the unprecedented step of calling for the boos to end.
Clearly then there is no smoke without fire and when Armitage appeared in the vicinity of the latest burnt-out building — matches in hand — the disciplinary committee opted to increase his ban from the standard entry eight weeks to 12. Hence the cry of conspiracy from the Toulannais. Yet they could do well to envisage a scenario in which their favoured son Jonny Wilkinson, or even Delon’s brother Steffon, would find themselves facing similar charges.
Nonetheless Toulon have the right of appeal, which they will undoubtedly use, against Armitage’s suspension that runs until March 8. Not that Toulon will desperately miss Armitage given that they can call upon Leigh Halfpenny, Juan Martin Hernandez, Drew Mitchell and, for a short time, James O’Connor at full back, but for Boudjellal everything is a point of principle.
This is an owner who has previously accused European rugby’s governing body of fixing the Heineken Cup draw and memorably described his team as being “sodomised by the referees” in the Top 14, a comment that drew a 130-day ban. Given such megalomania it is perhaps no surprise that he would be so quick to defend as reprehensible a character as Armitage as well as improbably threatening to sue a couple of ordinary Leicester supporters. “
@ Victoriabok:
Jy moet hulle net sien as ek daar rondloop met die trui aan…tonge (sp?) hang uit die mond uit met “jaloersheid”!
Jokes aside, the funniest was walking back to Nortie’s 1400 bakkie after the ’13 semi-final…these two youngsters walking arm-in-arm in the other direction crying: “Wat het gebeur, wat het gebeur?”
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