Paris (AFP)

Provence Rugby player Ludovic Radosavljevic, who admitted to making racist remarks against Cameroonian Nevers winger Christian Ambadiang during a Pro D2 rugby match, was suspended until April 2022, the League announced on Thursday. national rugby.

The 32-year-old, found responsible for "verbal offenses and provocations", will not be able to play before April 25, 2022, ie after the 28th day of the championship.

"Taking into account the particular gravity of the situation and the nature of the facts with which it is accused, the Disciplinary and Rules Commission determined the entry point of the offense at 52 weeks, ie the maximum sanction authorized", explains the NRL.

This sanction was reduced to 26 weeks of official competition "after taking into account the spontaneous recognition by the player of the facts alleged against him (...), the recognition of his guilt, his clean disciplinary record and the 'expression of remorse before the hearing ".

At the beginning of September, Ambadiang, 22, denounced on his Instagram account the incident that occurred during the 26-23 success of Provence Rugby in front of his team, on behalf of the 2nd day of Pro D2.

He accused an opposing player, without naming him, of having thrown at him: "I will burn you, banana eater", before coming to apologize later, saying that his words had been made "in the fire of the action".

- apologies -

The player in question, Radosavljevic, also publicly apologized on his Instagram account a few days later.

"I realize that what happened today represents the biggest mistake of my life and I ask forgiveness from Christian Ambadiang, his club, my family, my teammates, my staff, my leaders , club licensees, volunteers, all our supporters and club partners, "he wrote.

Without recent case law on the matter in pro rugby, it is difficult to compare.

But, for example, the pillar of Colomiers Richard Nones had been suspended for two years in 1999 for a fork (fingers in the eyes of the opponent).

For the same gesture, in the European Cup, the hooker of La Rochelle Pierre Bourgarit had been sentenced to six weeks in 2019.

Nevers player Josaia Raisuqe has been suspended for five weeks for lifting a referee with joy last season.

Finally, the Ivorian winger Silvère Tian, ​​initially suspended for 16 months for having violently insulted a referee during a meeting between Oyonnax and Grenoble in 2016, saw his sanction reduced to 36 weeks.

Former player of Clermont (2008-2017), where he was the understudy of Morgan Parra as scrum-half, and of Castres (2017-2020), where he was in competition with the former French international Rory Kockott, Radosavljevic had already been laid off by his current club pending the decision of the disciplinary committee.

This is not the first time that rugby has been affected by racism.

Last season, three Argentinian international players, including Pumas captain Pablo Matera, then at the Stade Français, authors in the past of xenophobic tweets, were thus suspended as a precaution.

Argentina's Pablo Matera during a 2019 Rugby World Cup match between Argentina and the United States, on October 9 at Kumagaya Rugby Stadium in Kumagaya CHARLY TRIBALLEAU AFP / Archives

The Argentine Federation ended up doing an about-face, only forcing them to attend sessions to raise awareness of discrimination and to do community service.

"In nine years, so much has happened. I regret and I am ashamed of those tweets, of course, and of what I did at the time (...) There are things that do not like me in my career, but it's part of the way and it makes me the person I am today ", had entrusted Matera in an interview with AFP, before adding:" It is important to ask forgiveness when you make a mistake. These tweets surprised me as much as anyone who read them. I don't remember when I wrote them. It was a really long time ago, but I don't want that to be an excuse for me. "

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