“The club and its manager will be available to this committee to clarify these comments. We regret if these could have moved or offended the professional and amateur refereeing world. Jean-Noël Spitzer, because of his position, is fully aware that he must show greater measure and restraint. These comments were made hotly after a defeat which was morally painful, due to its unique scenario and so cruel for the club.”
If RC Vannes recognizes that “this does not constitute an excuse but part of an explanation”, he is surprised by the “media escalation that followed”: “It is part of high-level learning and of its strong media coverage for an emerging club like ours. We will continue to work with a strong desire to progress in all our standards in order to bring our territory to the highest level of French rugby.”
“Our club has never called into question their probity and integrity”
In a post-match press conference on Saturday evening, Jean-Noël Spitzer regretted being refereed like a small club, before denouncing “inter-personality in the world of rugby”, while no Breton referee is in the Top 14.
Olivier Cloarec thus specifies in his press release that “Jean-Noël Spitzer and the entire club have been working for many years with the refereeing world for the training and development of young Breton referees in order to help them emerge”.
And to praise “the quality of the exchanges and the support that we have with the high performance refereeing unit within professional rugby, led by Mathieu Raynal and Romain Poite”.
“Like everyone involved in the game, referees can sometimes make mistakes. We can debate it but it is essential to protect them. Our club has never called into question their probity and integrity. The notion of respect has always been a cardinal and essential value of our club and we will continue to cultivate and defend it,” concludes the RC Vannes press release.
Senegal
