Castres president Pierre-Yves Revol has reacted angrily to allegations his player, Ismaela Lassissi, bit Munster’s Peter Clohessy during their European Cup match on Saturday.
Munster yesterday cited Lassissi, alleging the Ivory Coast-born number eight had bitten Clohessy on the forearm.
Castres then issued a citing of their own which claimed Lassissi "was subject to repeated racist and discriminatory comments". No individual player was named by Castres, who cited the Munster team itself.
The incident has been replayed extensively on French television with the pictures appearing to support Munster’s claim. Replays have highlighted Lassissi's mouth bearing down on Clohessy's arm as a 58th minute scrum collapsed.
If found guilty of biting, under European Cup disciplinary guidelines, Lassissi could face a ban of anywhere between one to three years. Given Lassissi’s age, the Castres man is now 32, any such ban could well spell the end of his rugby career.
However, Revol vigorously defended his player, saying: "I have had many discussions with the club's managers and have seen video evidence. He held Lassissi's shirt and his arm happened to come into close contact with Lassissi's face."
"This complaint is absolute nonsense," he continued. "Lassissi has always showed impeccable behaviour, he has never received any punishment in his career."
Asked about the likelihood of a ban for Lassissi, Revol revealed he was not even entertaining the possibility, pointing the finger firmly at Clohessy.
"I don't want to talk about that, Clohessy is the culprit, not Lassissi, who has not done anything wrong at all," he said.
Clohessy maintains nothing was said to Lassissi whatsoever.
"I never actually spoke to him [Lassissi] during the match at any stage, or passed any comment to him," Clohessy told today's Irish Times. "I went to the referee [to complain about the alleged biting] and it was the referee I spoke to only, not him."
The Munster branch have refused to comment on the allegations of racism, preferring to allow the ERC deal with the matter.
A three-man disciplinary committee will discuss the citings at a meeting in Dublin on Thursday. - Additional reporting PA
