Silvere Tian ban: Oyonnax rugby player given 14-month ban for verbally abusing and threatening referee Romain Poite
Tian will not be allowed to play again until July 2017 after he was sent-off in a match against Grenoble
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A rugby union player has been banned for 14 months, effectively ending his career, after he was found guilty of verbally abusing a referee after being sent-off.
Silvere Tian, an Ivory Coast-born full-back who plays for French Top 14 side Oyonnax, was shown a red card by international referee Romain Poite during a league game against Grenoble on 2 April. Tian was initially sent to the sin-bin by Poite, but after being verbally abused and threatened Poite deemed the offence worthy of a red card and sent-off the 35-year-old.
Tian continued to react as he left the field, and he waited on the sidelines for the end of the match before going after Poite as he made his way off the pitch and down the tunnel.
Top 14 officials Ligue National de Rugby [LNR] have now confirmed that Tian has been hit with a 14-month ban for bringing the game into disrepute, meaning he will not be allowed to play again until the end of June in 2017. At 35 years old, Tian will not be allowed to return until a week before his 37th birthday which also coincides with the expiry of his Oyonnax contract, meaning he is unlikely to play again.
LNR found Tian guilty of contravening Article 65 of their regulations, which states “no person, player or otherwise, on or off the field of play should bring the game into disrepute”. The club have also been fined €10,000 [£7,873] for failing to control their player.
Speaking afterwards, Tian apologised for his actions and admitted that his reaction fell short of the level expected of professional rugby players.
"I went to apologise to the referee. Perhaps because I wanted this victory so much because it was really important for us, that suddenly I got angry,” Tian said.
"There was no need to get so angry because there were a lot of kids watching, and the other spectators as well. So my reaction, as a professional player was not a good one."
Longest referee-related bans
Julien Caminati – 33 months
Silvere Tian – 14 months
Neil Back – Seven months
Percy Montgomery – Six months (18 additional months suspended)
Dylan Hartley – 11 weeks
The ban vastly exceeds the longest suspension handed out to a player for verbally abusing an official, which was held by current England captain Dylan Hartley. The Northampton Saints hooker was suspended for 11 weeks after abusing referee Wayne Barnes during the Aviva Premiership final defeat by Leicester Tigers in May 2013, and subsequently missed the successful British and Irish Lions Tour of Australia later that year.
However, French player Julien Caminati holds the infamous record for a referee-related ban after he was suspended for 33 months for spitting at a referee, later reduced to 26 on appeal. The ban was handed out when the 18-year-old was playing in the fourth division of French rugby, and he would go on to return with Nice only to fail a drug test.
The ban demonstrates the remarkable difference in sanctioning between rugby union and football, with Leicester City’s Jamie Vardy hitting the headlines recently after being sent-off and subsequently charged with improper conduct for verbally abusing referee Jon Moss.
The Premier League’s top goalscorer was dismissed after picking up a second booking for diving in the penalty area, and he reacted furiously at Moss before leaving the field. However, England international Vardy was given an automatic one-game ban for the red card, and could receive an additional match due to the Football Association charge in a similar sanction to Chelsea striker Diego Costa’s verbal abuse of a referee earlier in the season.
While neither Vardy nor Costa’s reaction was anywhere near as bad as Tian’s, the large gap between sanctions in rugby and football demonstrates why the 15-man game is determined to protect the status and reputation of matchday officials and protect them from any form of abuse.
Football referees regularly facing tongue-lashings of abuse and expletive-laden rants from players during matches, and the possibility of officials wearing microphones for fans to listen to – like they can do in rugby – has been ruled out due to the level of swearing that it would pick up.
However, the FA are taking a proactive view financially given they fined Costa double what Tian’s sanction produced, with Costa given a £20,000 fine after admitting a charge of improper conduct in March.
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