Father tries to hit Harinordoquy rival

Parents often cheer their children on from the sidelines at sporting events, but Biarritz No 8 Imanol Harinordoquy’s father took his enthusiasm a little too far on Tuesday when he tried to punch a Bayonne player during the Basque derby.

Lucien Harinordoquy rushed from the stands and squared up to Bayonne flanker Jean-Jo Marmouyet after his son was involved in an altercation in the match at Biarritz.

Now the president of Bayonne rugby club intends to lodge a complaint about the conduct of Harinordoquy senior.

Bayonne fly-half Benjamin Boyet threw Harinordoquy’s 62-year-old bespectacled father to the ground and stood over him with a fist raised, before other players intervened to calm things down. Lucien was then escorted away by another player, but tried unsuccessfully to return to the field.

“I tackled him because he was attacking one of my team-mates. I put him to the ground and [Biarritz hooker] Benoit August told me to stop, because it was Imanol’s father,” said Boyet.

Bayonne team manager Christian Gajan was outraged by the actions of Harinordoquy’s father.

“I find his behaviour deplorable, coming on to the pitch to defend his son by boxing with Marmouyet,” Gajan said. “You could have been forgiven for thinking it was a youth match between two local villages. It was a scandalous episode.”

Lucien apologised yesterday in a statement on Biarritz’s website. “I would like to present my apologies to the fans of Bayonne and Biarritz present, to the two teams and their staff members, to the LNR [French league] and the FFR [French Rugby Federation] and to rugby in general,” he said.

“Under pressure, and for various reasons, I totally lost control. I regret behaving in this way.”

Bayonne president Michel Cacouault called the incident “grotesque”, and said he would file a second complaint with the French league against Biarritz for its behaviour.

“Bayonne rugby club is shocked by the climate of violence and aggression during the 100th Basque derby,” Cacouault said in a statement on the club’s website.

“Provocations and insults were aimed at the players, but equally [insults] were aimed at the staff and the supporters of the blue and whites.”

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.

Imanol Harinordoquy, who can play at flanker or No 8 and has scored 13 tries in 77 internationals, is one of the toughest players in international rugby.

He was one of France’s best players during the knockout stages of this year’s World Cup. The 31-year-old forward inspired his team with a dominant performance against England in the quarter-finals, and played well when France lost to New Zealand in the final.

Harinordoquy junior didn’t comment on the incident. Biarritz won the match 21-19.