THE EPCR HAVE issued a €75,000 fine to Toulon owner Mourad Boudjellal and handed down a suspended points deduction to the club after a January tirade against the ‘morality’ of the tournament organisers.
Boudjellal spoke with Rugbyrama.fr after centre Mathieu Bastareaud had been cited (and later banned after pleading guilty) for calling an opponent a “faggot” and issued a staunch defence of his player.
“In my view, we’re talking about an insult that has entered common language,” said the comic book millionaire, adding, “I’m not homophobic either, but I have called someone a faggot. It has entered into common usage, it’s what comes to mind first in a row. But we’re in an age in which morality has taken on a great importance.”
Boudjellal also said he feared what ruling ‘”the Mormon side of the EPCR with the Welsh and the Irish” would make on Bastareaud.
The EPCR, who run the Champions and Challenge Cup tournaments, announced their investigation in January and today issued their ruling: a €75,000 fine for Boudjellal with €25,000 suspended ‘for any similar offending or misconduct by Mr Boudjellal in any rugby jurisdiction’ over the next three years.
Mr Boudjellal’s comments discriminated against and insulted a number of different groups and that they brought the game of rugby into disrepute.”
The Top14 club were hit with a five-point points deduction for EPCR tournaments, to be enforced in the case of ‘any similar offending or misconduct by the club or any of its representatives in any rugby jurisdiction’ in the next three seasons.’
In its decision released today, the EPCR’s disciplinary committee (chaired by Philip Evans, with Dan While and Jean-Noel Couraud) stressed the seriousness in which they viewed the offence and noted:
There were several aggravating factors, including poor disciplinary records and poor conduct during the disciplinary process, and that these increased the severity of the sanctions imposed.That poor conduct included ignoring directions made by the independent Disciplinary Committee and responding derisively to requests from the Committee for information.”
Neither Boudjellal nor a Toulon representative chose to attend the 4 July hearing in London and have been ordered to pay the EPCR’s legal costs.
If he gets back into the Irish setup without others getting injured I’d be very surprised. Saying that if he does merit a recall then he’ll be playing fantastic rugby so for Ireland sake I hope he does.
@Chris Mc: It’s all about him I reckon cause he’s definitely got the talent/ability. As someone else pointed out here he looked in bad shape for a lot of his time at Wasps, if he really focuses on that he could challenge for a place on the squad no problem.
@The Irish Pain: wasps wanted him heavier, to be a different prop than the mobile less effective scrumager cooper wolley
Ireland now have 5 reliable TH props available . Furlong , Porter , Bealham , Ryan and Moore : all under 30 . That’s an incredible turnaround .
@Limón Madrugada: Maybe you could include Archer on that list as he seems to be first choice in Munster.
@Tom Reilly: but reliable for Ireland ?? I’m not convinced , he is capped though for sure ..
Someone on here yesterday said that Leinster made a ‘poor decision’ letting Marty Moore go.
I think the opposite, Marty Moore made a poor decision to leave Leinster.
When he left he was in the Irish 23, primed to replace Ross. He moved to Wasps and ended up not even starting for them. He also looked unfit.
In that time Leinster developed Furlong and Porter, Ireland brought in Bealham and Ryan and a few years later he’s back fighting for 3rd/4th in the Irish pecking order.
A shame because he is some prop on his day. Possibly a better scrummager than any of the above.
@Oval Digest: The word was that Moore was excited to play under Dai Young, a well capped Welsh and Lions prop. Maybe it was the 2 year deal offered by Leinster vs the 3 year Wasps deal (undoubtedly for more money) that was the real reason. Or maybe he saw Tadgh Furlong coming through and thought now’s the time to cash in. Or perhaps he thought Leinster are not gonna be challenging any more. If it was the Young factor that helped him go, the renowned Young had no impact on him other than gaining weight. The move might have been good for his bank balance but it was a disaster for his career. Thus far. Still, a big season and he could play his way in.
@grandslamkbo The word was also that Moore signed a contract without realising that he couldn’t get out of it in an effort to bargain with the IRFU, and then got stuck.
https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/rugby/leinster-admit-defeat-in-bid-to-retain-marty-moore-s-services-1.2510136
Marty is good on his day when fit, the problem is there just isn’t enough of those days.
He will have to buck up his ideas if he is to have a sniff of being anywhere near the Irish squad.
Yes squad not team
His whole career and how people will view his achievements relies on his application for the next two years
Be interesting to see how Nathan Hughes goes this season, he should be pushing for a place in the English team.
@Ruairi O’Bric: He is a super club player but I’m not sure about his workrate apart from ball carrying. If Billy V stays fits there’s no comparison…
Looked very unfit at Wasps as when he was playing previously for Leinster he had great mobility/work-rate and could force a few turnovers too.
He was overweight when he last played for Leinster and Ireland and things have only gotten worse since, needs to go on a serious shred if he is to make Ireland contention again.