‘Biased’ Wayne Barnes to referee Toulon v Munster

Referee Wayne Barnes will take charge of the Heineken Cup semi-final between Toulon and Munster in Marseille on Sunday week, less than a month after the French club's owner Mourad Boudjellal accused him of being biased against his side.

Boudjellal launched into an unprompted tirade against Barnes after Toulon, the holders, had comfortably defeated Leinster in the quarter-final at Stade Mayol. He reminded reporters that the English referee had controlled the 2012 Amlin Challenge Cup final at the Stoop when Dimitri Yachvili kicked seven penalties from seven attempts to give Biarritz a three-point victory over Toulon.

“I was afraid when I heard who would be refereeing,” Boudjellal said after the victory over Leinster. “We had controversial decisions against us in the past and I did not think it [the appointment] would be agreeable. I did not agree with all his decisions [in the quarter-final] and felt he was a bit biased.”

Boudjellal, who was not disciplined by the tournament organisers, European Rugby Cup, for his remarks, was banned by the Top 14 organisers for 130 days in 2012 for an outburst he made against a referee after a league match against Clermont Auvergne. He claimed his side had been “sodomised” by officials, a remark that prompted the country’s association of referees to threaten legal action.

Had ERC not been in its last few months before the change in administration for the European Cup, Boudjellal may have found himself invited to explain his remarks to a disciplinary panel. Now that the heads of agreement for the Rugby Champions Cup has been signed, he is unlikely to get away with a repeat of his outburst.

The other semi-final, between Saracens and Clermont Auvergne at Twickenham, will be controlled by Nigel Owens, the Welshman who is widely regarded as the leading referee in the world.

Guardian Service