Sebastien Chabal ordered to referee three French youth games to halve 60-day ban

By Mark Lawford Sebastien Chabal has been told he can halve his 60-day ban for criticising French League referees by taking charge of three youth matches.

The French RFU have come up with two foolproof plans to ensure referees never get backchat.

Firstly, they have punished one of their star names for criticising officials by making him take charge of three youth games.

Secondly, that star name is Sebastien Chabal.

The 33-year-old back row was suspended by his club Racing Metro last month for an outburst against “hopeless and useless” Top 14 referees and was then banned for 60 days by his country’s RFU.

However, Chabal, axed from the France World Cup squad after an indifferent Six Nations, has the chance to halve his ban by agreeing to referee three junior matches.

It won’t be enough to stop Chabal missing the end of season play-offs against either Castres or Montpellier on May 28, but could certainly stop any thoughts of dissent to the match official once the 6ft 3in, 16-stone forward takes to the pitch armed only with a whistle and a pair of coloured cards.

Racing coach Pierre Berbizier said: “He has paid for his comments about referees but he is the victim not of sporting performances but of the parasites that surround him and prevent him from concentrating solely on rugby.”

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