The defeat (23-20) conceded this Thursday evening to Provence Rugby, in the last seconds, left a bitter taste in the Brivist mouths. Was Brive poorly refereed? A look back at three key actions deciphered.
“I don’t want to talk about the refereeing, it could cost us dearly. But I’m frustrated because I feel like we haven’t been rewarded. »
Reference here, to the 24 penalties conceded and the 4 yellow cards collected. Faced with tension and anger, we decided to return to three key sequences of the meeting, deciphered with a former referee who preferred to remain in the shadows.
1. Erwan Dridi’s yellow card
During the summer, directives were given: the refereeing body and the broadcaster no longer wish to see this type of clash which pollutes the match and the image of rugby.
The referees were therefore instructed to take action. By a yellow card automatically? “No”, whispers to us a leader of French arbitration who believes that Mr. Urruzmendi was, without doubt, harsh on this decision even if the primary fault lies with the Brivist winger who should never have pushed his player in the back. Lapègue counterpart.
“The players are aware of our directives, they know that they will be sanctioned if they behave badly during such a sequence,” continues this refereeing executive. However, the yellow was not obligatory or a simple penalty would have sufficed.
Mr. Urruzmendi could also have sanctioned the two players with a yellow card as he explained on the microphone to his video referee, Mr. Dellac, before – strangely – changing his mind, without further explanation.
empty (empty)
Pro D2: how CA Brive, despite everything, shot itself in the foot at Provence Rugby
Receive our CAB Match Day newsletter by email and find essential and exclusive information on your favorite club.
2. The penalty against Léo Carbonneau
This is certainly the image of the meeting. The scrum half, his head planted in the ground after being turned around by the 3rd line Harrisson then lifted into the air by a shoulder movement from his teammate Erwan Dridi.
The action immediately triggered strong anger among Brive supporters. A legitimate anger since it is a… obvious refereeing error. And it should, according to our information, be recognized as such. For what ? Because still according to the referee we contacted, the Aix player commits a “reckless act”.
“So yes, the action is accentuated by the switch made with Dridi but he initiates the contact. It is therefore penalized. » And, instead of recovering a logical penalty, the CAB was finally sanctioned for an… offside by Léo Carbonneau during the action. An offside cannot be penalized since the Briviste was cornered by the Provençaux. Second mistake. And there again, Mr. Urruzmendi saw his first judgment contradicted, this time by his assistant referee.
“When I see the image on the big screen, I switch directly to the management of our dismissal because for me, there is a red card and we are going to try for the points,” said Pierre-Henry Broncan after the match.
3. The last throw into the touchline of Provence Rugby
Viewed on video, very quickly, the sequence also caused incomprehension in the Corrèze ranks.
The reason? The positions of numbers 21 and 22 of Provence Rugby, which are clearly not at the regulatory 10 meters on Loïc Jammes’ throw.
“In reality, a player can be in an offside position on a line-out without being penalized as long as he does not interfere in the action,” comments the former game director.
And, in this case, in this specific case, Cazenave and Gopperth did not touch the ball on Léo Drouet’s try, who left when the ball left the hands of his heel. The latter was therefore valid. Terribly frustrating, but worthwhile. Or at least in the strict application of the rule.
Benjamin Pommier
Screenshots Canal +
Related News :