French rugby referees are suing controversial Toulon president Mourad Boudjellal for defamation after he made lurid accusations in the wake of a Top 14 defeat.
Boudjellal is the flamboyant millionaire who lured Sonny Bill Williams away from the NRL to play French rugby back in 2008.
The referees union (UNAR) are angry that Boudjellal spoke of “refereeing sodomy” in the aftermath of his team’s 25-19 loss to Clermont on January 8.
“I am not surprised that they are attacking me. With what they are paid, they need the money,” said the Toulon chief.
Boudjellal is also facing a 60-day suspension by the national federation for his outburst.
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- French rugby, Rugby Union, Toulon
January 20th 2012 @ 10:29am
kovana said | January 20th 2012 @ 10:29am | Report comment
Whats the problem? Are people not entitled to speak their minds now?
January 20th 2012 @ 10:51am
kingplaymaker said | January 20th 2012 @ 10:51am | Report comment
Given the millions this guy has poured into Top 14 rugby they should let him be, especially as all he wants is that the French referees become professionals, not much to ask!
January 20th 2012 @ 12:45pm
Wally James said | January 20th 2012 @ 12:45pm | Report comment
Any vicious attack on referees should be clamped down on in my view.
How will the game get anyone to join refs’ ranks when all they can expect is Boudjellal’s vitriol? There are enough ref bashers around the place without someone of his standing in the game becoming one.
That is not to say that refs should be immune from criticism. But it is to say that unreasonable and vile comments should be punished. That they emanate from a person with money is irrelevant. Either what he said breaches the code of conduct or it doesn’t. If the former, punish him, if the latter, change the Code so becomes a breach.
If he wants changes to the way the game is run there are much more pleasant ways of approaching the problem.
January 20th 2012 @ 3:40pm
Green Lantern said | January 20th 2012 @ 3:40pm | Report comment
French are too sensitive.
January 20th 2012 @ 4:03pm
Nathan of Perth said | January 20th 2012 @ 4:03pm | Report comment
Let’s not try to pretend that unhinged abuse of referees does ANYTHING to improve the efficacy of referees. Rather the opposite, it affects the morale and confidence of referees and what you see is worse decisions and referees second-guessing themselves.
January 20th 2012 @ 5:57pm
Wally James said | January 20th 2012 @ 5:57pm | Report comment
Exactly
January 20th 2012 @ 4:14pm
kovana said | January 20th 2012 @ 4:14pm | Report comment
What i hate about the reffing standards at Pro level is that there are 2 assistant refs as well.
Either we move to having 2 refs on the field.. But i doubt the IRB would do that.. Or the ARs start speaking up and up their game.
Inept Refs are a BLIGHT!
January 20th 2012 @ 4:48pm
Johnno said | January 20th 2012 @ 4:48pm | Report comment
The French may be too sensitive green lantern, but I think they had every right to be over sensitive with the disgraceful refereeing performance of the IRB appointed craig joubert for the world cup final.
January 20th 2012 @ 8:31pm
Bazza all black said | January 20th 2012 @ 8:31pm | Report comment
Snore, change the record, build a bridge and get over it, etc etc
January 22nd 2012 @ 12:37am
Dave said | January 22nd 2012 @ 12:37am | Report comment
Bazza have you ever had anything positive to say? You seem like a really bitter person champ.
January 22nd 2012 @ 8:08am
Bazza all black said | January 22nd 2012 @ 8:08am | Report comment
Feel pretty positive about holding the cup. I am positive the all blacks have always been world champs and now it’s official.
I am positive jourbet is the best ref in the world.
I am happy to move on if the sore losers, conspiracy nuts are…
And the nay Sayers on this site are nothing compared to the scary levels of scary saffas at keo.
I do laugh at the posters who say the win was tainted and it will ever leave a bad taste in our mouths. Nope and if the ref made a few bad calls, well it is the champion side that plays over that – just like the ab s did NOT in 2007.
I am so proud of how the boys actually did not play great but never gave up – esp loved the zero to hero of the Beaver.
2012 will be awesome, sounds like a few grudges to work through…
But in the mean time it’s good bill is back here he was always destined to be.
January 22nd 2012 @ 3:18pm
Dave said | January 22nd 2012 @ 3:18pm | Report comment
Agreed 2012 will be awesome. But I gotta say that Allain Rolland is a better ref then Jourbert, and should have reffed the final. (Red card in semi was the correct decision.).
January 23rd 2012 @ 12:06pm
kovana said | January 23rd 2012 @ 12:06pm | Report comment
“I am positive jourbet is the best ref in the world. ”
Lol. Deluded.
Joubert did his best to try and make sure ‘destiny’ occurred at Eden Park. Heck no he was gonna be the ref to deny it.
January 21st 2012 @ 12:00am
kingplaymaker said | January 21st 2012 @ 12:00am | Report comment
Johnno it was an outrage and clearly either he couldn’t subconsciously handle the idea of being responsible for the ABs losing their home RWC or maybe there was corruption? In any case it’s not great for the ABs as it tarnishes their victory.
January 21st 2012 @ 6:48am
mace 22 said | January 21st 2012 @ 6:48am | Report comment
Tarnished or not the blacks are still world champions and will be until 2015.
January 21st 2012 @ 8:09am
kingplaymaker said | January 21st 2012 @ 8:09am | Report comment
Obviously, the point is not that anything should be taken away from the ABs, but that someone should admit that the refereeing was terrible.
January 21st 2012 @ 11:16am
allblackfan said | January 21st 2012 @ 11:16am | Report comment
KPM, will you accept that the Reds Super rugby title was delivered in no small part because of the ref?
January 21st 2012 @ 12:20pm
kingplaymaker said | January 21st 2012 @ 12:20pm | Report comment
abf as I say further down the page at length, I don’t think a referee can be blamed for a loss unless his decisions come at the end of a match, neither in the case of the Super final nor the RWC final. I don’t think one can say a different refereeing performance would have meant a different result.
I can’t actually remember the refereeing in the Super final, but if you say it was awful and was favourable towards the Reds then I’ll take your word for it.
My point about the RWC final isn’t that France should have won, but that the refereeing was bad. New Zealand should have won, and did.
January 21st 2012 @ 3:47pm
Rugbug said | January 21st 2012 @ 3:47pm | Report comment
It may not have been in the Final KPM but the Reds – Crusaders round robin game was appalling and one of the worst refereeing decisions I have seen. Had the Reds lost that match they could quite easily have not been in the position to contest a home final let alone win the Title.
January 21st 2012 @ 3:45pm
Rugbug said | January 21st 2012 @ 3:45pm | Report comment
Wayne Barnes anyone 07,
What did people like yourself say to New Zealand fans back then?
Something like Suck it Up get over it…..
P.S I don’t see how in anyway the ABs victory is tarnished.
If you are going to make wild statements like that you would have to draw the same very long bow over South Africas 07 victory.
January 21st 2012 @ 4:10pm
Johnno said | January 21st 2012 @ 4:10pm | Report comment
I agree KPM I have watched the final replay again and seen highlights on you tube, and it was an amazing night, but forever that final will always have a dark cloud hanging over it, as if something just wasn’t quite right about it.
From the moment the French confronted the Haka and the manner in which they did, this rugby match was not your normal match. So much was at stake for NZ, it is only sport but there was a deep sense almost as if NZ would sink if it didn’t win, akin to nuclear war a total disaster, hearing some of the commentators Ian smith when he was out here in the cricket he was talking about the rugby and saying it had to happen, it had to happen.
The pain of the AB’S losing would of been massive.
I have never seen more patriotic street parades , when the AB’S won it was amazing.
I have watched footage of the steve donald kick and some say he missed that, and on the replays it looks very difficult to know if his kick went over.
But as i watched the replay, the one word i could describe the match was tension, and other words like conspiracy and suspicion.
Some of the referee calls after watching the replay, i simply could not believe France did not get penalties over.
So for me the ab’s win will always feel hollow, and the whole match to me will forever have a dark cloud of suspicion over it for all sorts of reasons.
The AB’S winning the world cup has been good for international rugby marketing purposes.
Haveing a SH team come to NH to defend there title, plus end of season AB tours over next 4 years will sell better with the world champions tag.
And this feeling of NZ of lifting this chocker tag of there shoulders.
As Graham Henry said the nation can now rest in peace, and he is right, it impacts on the NZ public so much that world cup in 2011.
It would of been massivley hollow for NZ rugby this year entering the rugby champhionship as runners up, and losing a world cup final at home would of been totally devestating. But they won KPM, but the match too me will always have an element of mystery and dark cloud hanging over it.
January 21st 2012 @ 4:39pm
Darwin Stubbie said | January 21st 2012 @ 4:39pm | Report comment
You and KPM are perfect for each other
January 21st 2012 @ 5:13pm
Johnno said | January 21st 2012 @ 5:13pm | Report comment
On many issues darwin stubbie I 100% agree with KPM. The world cup final refereeing was not up to standard, and so many harsh desicons went the french way in that final, no question about it.
January 21st 2012 @ 6:12pm
Darwin Stubbie said | January 21st 2012 @ 6:12pm | Report comment
Rubbish – you’re implying a conspiracy involving teams, refs, the IRB, the W-cup organizing committee etc – which has absolutely no foundation … It’s no surprise you find common ground with KPM
January 21st 2012 @ 6:41pm
Rugbug said | January 21st 2012 @ 6:41pm | Report comment
I have seen some extremists on rugby forums but you Johnno take the cake.
Does anyone here actually take you seriously?
I have been reading through some of the threads seeing what people have to say and it seems Johnno that you have a huge chip on your shoulder re NZ and its rugby teams.
KPM not sure really what to think but I see on one thread where you have been asked to supply proof and facts yet haven’t been able to or wont.
Like it or not boys New Zealand won the World Cup fair and square and it seems it is an extremely bitter pill to swallow.
It amazes me how people like yourselfs are so quick to dismiss 2007 yet here you are both inferring that there was a conspiracy theory., that would have to be one of if not the most absurd accusations I have seen to date.
It’s so obvious that you feel a little bit of pain as you can no longer use the taunt that the All Blacks have not won a world cup for said many years. So now you have to resort to tarnishing the reputation of one of if not the best referee in the world and claim conspiracy, I guess desperate people say desperate things.
January 21st 2012 @ 6:57pm
Nathan of Perth said | January 21st 2012 @ 6:57pm | Report comment
Don’t worry Rugbug, we don’t take hum seriously but he is very entertaining, you must admit.
January 23rd 2012 @ 12:11pm
kovana said | January 23rd 2012 @ 12:11pm | Report comment
“Like it or not boys New Zealand won the World Cup fair and square .”
Again. Deluded.
Watch the Final again. Watch as he ,Joubert has different rulings at scrum time and also when players are injured.
At scrum time, France went backwards,NZ won a penalty from a scrum. At another scrum.. NZ going backwards, Joubert calls restart.
Cruden injured. Almost immediately all play is stopped. Parra is injured.. Play continues on for almost 5 minutes. Disgusting.
January 23rd 2012 @ 1:49pm
kingplaymaker said | January 23rd 2012 @ 1:49pm | Report comment
DS if two people agree on anything that doesn’t praise or glorify New Zealand, then it must be a global anti-kiwi conspiracy.
January 23rd 2012 @ 1:47pm
kingplaymaker said | January 23rd 2012 @ 1:47pm | Report comment
Johnno it was certainly an enigmatic and curious evening (not to mention a boring one, so much for kings of champagne rugby).
It was truly remarkable how Joubert went from being a razoe sharp, completely objective referee to looking as if he would do anything to stop the French winning.
January 23rd 2012 @ 2:21pm
Bazza All Black said | January 23rd 2012 @ 2:21pm | Report comment
Was not boring for us Kiwis….and if J wanted to stop the French winning or was paid to do it he cut it bloody fine…
The best and correct result stood – though i still think the World Cup is a bit of a joke when it comes to proclaiming World Champs..France could have won the tournament, and they are never the best Rugby team in the world.
The best team is one that wins year in, year out…
It would be better to have a round robin at world cup time, be more accurat then.
Anyway, the monkey is off our back, we are finally officially world champs, and no amount of complaining or carping is going to change that, or change my mind the ABs win it fair and square.
…and like i have said before, the french were lucky not to be sent off for biting, eye gouging, stinky garlic breath, bottling out in both world wars, nuking the pacific, sinking the rainbow Warrior (and getting caught!).
The Frenchies are entertaining but not world Champs…
Kov, you can throw around delusions and accusations of until the cows come home but the books say we won, my heart says we did and your team didn’t
nur nur nah nah!
4 more years sucker!
January 23rd 2012 @ 4:06pm
kovana said | January 23rd 2012 @ 4:06pm | Report comment
Great points bozza.
Does not change the fact the quite a lot of people still think Joubert handled the game badly. If NZ won by 20 points…. Well no one would argue they are deserved champs.
But they didnt. And to have Joubers performance overshadowing the victory is a real shame.
January 23rd 2012 @ 4:45pm
Bazza all black said | January 23rd 2012 @ 4:45pm | Report comment
Well, a lot of people think the USA is the best country in the world. Just because a lot of idiots believe something is true does not make it so….
I repeat we did not just win by one, the French lost by one. They just had to score once more…
Guess they are the new chokers on the world stage.
It must hurt not to have a great team to support.
Actually, I know how it feels, our cricket team are terrible..
Enjoy your world view. We still won…
January 20th 2012 @ 5:16pm
mace 22 said | January 20th 2012 @ 5:16pm | Report comment
I wish us spectators could sue ref’s for some of the refereeing in games in the last 12 months.
January 20th 2012 @ 5:22pm
Nathan of Perth said | January 20th 2012 @ 5:22pm | Report comment
Mate, they don’t make the rules, they just try and enforce that gibberish. Have you ever looked at Union’s rulebook? There are literally DOZENS of even things as simple as referee hand signals, let alone the grey-areas and complexity of many of the other rules.
I just can’t see how anyone has the stones to criticise a ref trying to navigate a game with that rulebook’s instruction.
January 20th 2012 @ 6:34pm
peterlala said | January 20th 2012 @ 6:34pm | Report comment
I disagree 100 per cent Nathan, the referees are below the standard of the players. In a spectator sport, they are not above criticism.
As for suing…there you have the crux of the problem: the referees take themselves too seriously…no one goes to the game to watch someone blow his whistle.
That’s the first, and over-riding rule to learn.
PS: Crashy, better class of spectator than moi, surely not.
January 21st 2012 @ 9:08am
mitzter said | January 21st 2012 @ 9:08am | Report comment
“the referees are below the standard of the players”
You really can’t say that – listen to phil kearns or even current players and you realise they have no idea on the laws.
“no one goes to the game to watch someone blow his whistle” Man i get sick of this BS argument. No ref thinks they are the centre of the show but there decision are VERY improtant! Let something go – someone compains, blow something up – someone complains.
At the same time we have internation stars that play close to the line and frequently go past it in disgraceful demonstrations of sportsmanship, but instead of telling these players to reign it in because they are ruining the game we prasie them.
Do I always agree with the ref? No but I know they are doing their best.
January 23rd 2012 @ 12:16pm
kovana said | January 23rd 2012 @ 12:16pm | Report comment
Let me guess Mitzer.. You are a ref… No bias at all in your statements ey.
Refs are not above the players nor are they above criticism. People openly criticize players. Refs should be too.
If they, the refs, start suing people… Well by golly, people should be allowed to sue refs as well.
January 20th 2012 @ 5:30pm
crashy said | January 20th 2012 @ 5:30pm | Report comment
Gang- let’s remember to call them ‘Laws’ not ‘rules’.
How can we continue the mirage that our game attracts a better class of spectator if we refer to ‘Rules’!
January 20th 2012 @ 6:01pm
Nathan of Perth said | January 20th 2012 @ 6:01pm | Report comment
Mate, they don’t make the [LAWS], they just try and enforce that gibberish. Have you ever looked at Union’s [LAWS OF THE GAME]? There are literally DOZENS of even things as simple as referee hand signals, let alone the grey-areas and complexity of many of the other [LAWS].
I just can’t see how anyone has the stones to criticise a ref trying to navigate a game with that [BOOK OF THE LAWS OF THE GAME]’s instruction[s].
Ahem.
January 21st 2012 @ 12:05am
kingplaymaker said | January 21st 2012 @ 12:05am | Report comment
Let’s get one thing straight here, the idea of referees SUING a club owner because of criticism is ridiculous!
Remember we’re not talking about Boudjellal being punished by a governing body, which is the normal punishment, but a group of referees SUING a player, crazy! Why do referees think they can start suing anyone they want?
January 21st 2012 @ 10:39am
Yikes said | January 21st 2012 @ 10:39am | Report comment
Why exactly should they not be able to sue for defamation like every other person or group on the planet?