SARACENS BOSS MARK McCall says the English club will consider their next move after one of Munster’s medical team was involved in an exchange with hooker Jamie George.
The Saracens director of rugby claimed a “horrible” comment had been directed at George.
The incident sparked a large-scale scuffle between Saracens and Munster players in the second half of the English team’s 15-6 Heineken Champions Cup win at Allianz Park.
Munster’s head of medical, Jamie Kearns, was the target of George’s unhappiness, with Saracens assistant coach Alex Sanderson subsequently telling BT Sport that the Munster medic had made a derogatory comment about George’s weight.
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There was a large-scale scuffle in the second half. Dan Sheridan / INPHO
Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO
A Munster spokesperson said that Kearns apologised to George post-match in London but Saracens boss McCall said his club needs to look at the incident in more depth before deciding whether to make a complaint.
The melee ended with Munster being awarded a penalty by referee Pascal Guazere.
“We need to decide to what we’re going to do before I start speaking about that,” said McCall.
“From what I know, something pretty bad was said at Jamie. He wouldn’t have reacted the way he reacted otherwise. We’ll take our time to decide whether we do anything.
“Clearly it shouldn’t happen, we all know that. I don’t think what was said to Jamie was good at all. We’ll see. If a doctor… we just have to decide because it started a 30-man brawl.
“Owen Farrell got penalised for running into the melee but from what I saw 29 other people ran into it. It was a strange penalty to give and it was instigated by a member of their staff who said something horrible to one of our players. We’ll decide what happens next.”
Munster were awarded a penalty after the extended push-and-shove. Billy Stickland / INPHO
Billy Stickland / INPHO / INPHO
An EPCR spokesperson said the tournament organisers review all games at the end of each round of fixtures in the Champions Cup, meaning there could be an official investigation if deemed necessary.
“All matches are reviewed at the conclusion of the round and EPCR will make no comment at this point,” said the spokesperson.
Munster boss Johann van Graan declined to comment directly on the incident.
“Look, I don’t know what happened here, there were a lot of people involved which is never nice to see and we missed the penalty,” said van Graan.
“I’ve no idea what happened there, I’ll have a look at it but I’m not going to speculate.
“You never want to see a fight between two teams of this quality.”
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'It was instigated by a member of their staff who said something horrible to one of our players'
SARACENS BOSS MARK McCall says the English club will consider their next move after one of Munster’s medical team was involved in an exchange with hooker Jamie George.
The Saracens director of rugby claimed a “horrible” comment had been directed at George.
The incident sparked a large-scale scuffle between Saracens and Munster players in the second half of the English team’s 15-6 Heineken Champions Cup win at Allianz Park.
Munster’s head of medical, Jamie Kearns, was the target of George’s unhappiness, with Saracens assistant coach Alex Sanderson subsequently telling BT Sport that the Munster medic had made a derogatory comment about George’s weight.
A Munster spokesperson said that Kearns apologised to George post-match in London but Saracens boss McCall said his club needs to look at the incident in more depth before deciding whether to make a complaint.
The melee ended with Munster being awarded a penalty by referee Pascal Guazere.
“We need to decide to what we’re going to do before I start speaking about that,” said McCall.
“From what I know, something pretty bad was said at Jamie. He wouldn’t have reacted the way he reacted otherwise. We’ll take our time to decide whether we do anything.
“Clearly it shouldn’t happen, we all know that. I don’t think what was said to Jamie was good at all. We’ll see. If a doctor… we just have to decide because it started a 30-man brawl.
“Owen Farrell got penalised for running into the melee but from what I saw 29 other people ran into it. It was a strange penalty to give and it was instigated by a member of their staff who said something horrible to one of our players. We’ll decide what happens next.”
An EPCR spokesperson said the tournament organisers review all games at the end of each round of fixtures in the Champions Cup, meaning there could be an official investigation if deemed necessary.
“All matches are reviewed at the conclusion of the round and EPCR will make no comment at this point,” said the spokesperson.
Munster boss Johann van Graan declined to comment directly on the incident.
“Look, I don’t know what happened here, there were a lot of people involved which is never nice to see and we missed the penalty,” said van Graan.
“I’ve no idea what happened there, I’ll have a look at it but I’m not going to speculate.
“You never want to see a fight between two teams of this quality.”
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Doctor Mark McCall melee Munster Saracens scuffle