Over-protective dad wades into on-field rugby brawl

Parents often cheer their children on from the sidelines at sporting events but Imanol Harinordoquy's father took his enthusiasm a little too far when he ran onto the pitch and tried to punch a Bayonne player during the Basque derby. Lucien Harinordoquy raced onto the pitch during Tuesday's Top 14 clash, after his France international son had clashed with a pair of Bayonne players, and attempted to punch one of them - Jean-Jo Marmouyet - in the face. Before he was able to make contact with Marmouyet, however, Harinordoquy snr was tackled by Bayonne fly-half Benjamin Boyet.

"I tackled him because he was attacking one of my team mates," Boyet said. "I put him to the ground and (Biarritz hooker) Benoit August told me to stop, because it was Imanol's father." Bayonne president Michel Cacouault was apoplectic after the incident and has threatened to file a complaint, branding the incident "unacceptable". Cacouault has said he will seek to ascertain what Bayonne can do "legally" over the incident, which occurred in the sixth minute of his side's 21-19 defeat.


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Christian Gajan, Bayonne's director of rugby, was also outraged by Harinordoquy snr's behaviour. "I find his behaviour deplorable, that he came onto the pitch to defend his son by boxing with Marmouyet at the beginning of the match," he said. "You could have been forgiven for thinking it was a youth match between two local villages. It was a scandalous episode." Harinordoquy jnr, who is known as one of the toughest players in the sport and is a veteran of three World Cups, has chosen not to comment.

The president of France's National Rugby League, Pierre-Yves Revol, has described the incident as "a first in professional rugby" and that his organisation will conduct an investigation, prompting Lucien Harinordoquy to apologise for his behaviour. "My apologies to the Aguilera crowd - Bayonne and Biarritz spectators, to both teams and their staff, to the French League and Federation as well as to the world of rugby in general," he said. "I was under pressure and, for other reasons, I lost control. I regret my behaviour."