French rugby compared with 'football hooliganism' as Top 14 referee hit in the head

An ugly incident has occurred in France’s Top 14 in a match between Agen and Clermont with referee Thomas Charabas targetted by fans following the match.

According to reports by Rugbyrama, Charabas was hit in the head with a coin thrown from the stands after the home side Agen lost. Security guards also confirmed they were showered with coins. The fans were upset towards the decisions of the referee during the match. The incident comes after glass was thrown at a referee at the end of a match in Perpignan.

Fellow referee Cédric Clavé has reacted on social media condemning these acts and is asking for harsh punishment on the fans.

“Disgusted that idiots attacked a colleague yesterday,” he wrote on Twitter.

“We often compare to football, this is a great opportunity to see if we are as brave … In football: stadium ban, in-camera games and a fine. Will the @LNRofficiel?”

“What are we playing?”

The president of SU Agen, Jean-François Fonteneau, reacted to the news of the incident and stated that the intention was to send a message rather than ‘hurt’ the referee, with fans suggesting that the referee had been ‘bought’.

“I had a long discussion with the referees at the end of the match, I do not think there was any intention. I understand that some of the supporters wanted to send a message to the referees by throwing coins at them so as to make them understand that they had been bought. Willingness to throw an object to hurt someone. ”

“I am very proud of the behavior of the supporters. There was a real desire to push behind our team, but I want to alert our supporters on certain behaviors, there may be a feeling of unfairness with regard to the refereeing, we must not have bad behavior, we must be irreproachable, otherwise it can play against the club. ”

It is expected that the Agen club will be fined over the incident.

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