It was in Aude, near Perpignan, that an amateur rugby match, between two Regional 1 teams, degenerated into general fistfights on Sunday October 1st. Indeed, at the end of the match won at home by the Entente Fleury-Salles-Coursan against the Foyer Laïque du Haut-Vernet, a club from the Perpignan suburbs, an impressive fight exploded between local supporters and the team visitor.
Results: the hospitalization of four players from the Foyer Laïque for “broken noses and teeth, stitches, concussions and loss of consciousness”, as specified by the president of the club, Benoît Castanedo, at France Bleu.
“Dirty bugnoule”, “dirty Arab”, when a rugby match between two amateur clubs turns into racist attacks.
Following this impressive fight, @SOS_Racism announced to take legal action. pic.twitter.com/FQaqxpbhHx
— Loopsider (@Loopsidernews) October 6, 2023
Worse, the motive for this attack would be racist, according to two Perpignan players interviewed by Loopsider, which also published the video of the brawl. “I curled up in a ball and I heard: Dirty Arab, you only deserve this and I get an iron bar. I haven’t slept for three or four days. I have nightmares. Frankly, I saw death,” reveals Mohamed, one of them, still very marked.
“An attack motivated by racism”
The Catalan club, which filed a complaint, quickly received the support of SOS Racisme. Its president Dominique Soto, who denounces a “ratonnade” on his account (formerly Twitter), also filed a complaint with the Narbonne prosecutor. “We have taken legal action as the acts which took place are extremely serious. This is an attack motivated by racism,” he says.
“It is important that there is no ambiguity about this. There are attackers who attack people who are largely outnumbered. This ultimately results in several dozen days of ITT. We hope that the sporting authorities, the Ligue d’Occitanie, as well as the justice system, will find those responsible for the attacks and that rugby will emerge enhanced by the firmness of the response provided by its authorities. »
Coursan also takes legal action
“I don’t want to fall into the idea that it was rugby people who did that. I think that there is a form of hooliganism, an element of alcohol too, which was visible on Sunday,” insisted the coach of the Foyer Laïque, Vincent Lagassé, who was also attacked.
For its part, the Fleury-Salles-Coursan Entente also took legal action. In a press release, the amateur club also claims to have “injured players and supporters” in its ranks. “One of our players suffered six facial fractures following a violent punch from behind, while he was calmly returning to the locker room. »
The Occitanie rugby league has announced an upcoming examination of the file by the disciplinary committee, after an internal investigation.
