Ronan O’Gara angry at latest treatment that could have big Leinster implications
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Not impressed.
La Rochelle head coach Ronan O’Gara believes he is being treated unfairly by the Ligue Nationale de Rugby in France after being cited for an incident in the Top 14 last weekend.
O’Gara has been in trouble with the association several times previously and has already received four bans from the governing body while at La Rochelle, receiving a lengthy 10-game ban for one of them.
His latest citing came following an incident during La Rochelle’s defeat to Racing 92 last weekend where O’Gara approached the fourth official and asked why his side weren’t given a penalty try in the first half.
“Following the above-mentioned match [Racing 92 v Stade Rochelais], the match officials appointed for this meeting reported the behaviour of Mr. Ronan O’Gara, coach of Stade Rochelais,” a statement from the LNR read.
“The situation in question is likely to constitute an infringement of the General Regulations of the LNR and the FFR.
“Mr. Ronan O’Gara and Stade Rochelais are summoned before the Disciplinary Commission and regulations at its meeting of December 6, 2023.
“Mr. Ronan O’Gara is not suspended pending this hearing.”
The Cork native expressed his anger with the situation in his Irish Examiner column this week and suggested he would not have been cited if he wasn’t Irish.
“The Clermont coach Christophe Urios has slated officials publicly in the media but he isn’t an Irish coach making his way in France…” O’Gara wrote.
“Certainly, there is a sense here, without a hint of paranoia, that selective treatment is a concern.
“Others appear to be able to comment on officialdom with impunity, yet I look sideways at someone and I am up before a hearing committee again.”
O’Gara will face the disciplinary hearing on December 6 ahead of La Rochelle’s Champions Cup opener against Leinster.
A ban would result in O’Gara missing the game which is a repeat of the last two finals in which the French side emerged victorious on both occasions.