Sebastien Chabal attacks refs

RACING Metro forward Sebastien Chabal apologised for criticising referees in the Top 14, then condemned them again hours later. Now the France international has been summoned by the French league to appear before a disciplinary hearing on 12 May.

Chabal was already suspended by Racing until 1 May - the day France coach Marc Lievremont names his Rugby World Cup squad - for his comments in a newspaper last week. Chabal told RTL radio yesterday his remarks were "taken out of context" and regretted causing a controversy ahead of the release of his autobiography. "I'm sorry for what has been published in the newspaper," Chabal said. "I'm speaking about refereeing in friendly terms in my book. I'm sorry if I hurt some people's feelings and I apologise for this."

But Chabal reiterated that referees in the Top 14 "are suffering from their non-professionalism" and are not armed with the proper tools to perform well. "In my book I'm highlighting the fact that it's a very difficult job I would not do for all the money in the world," Chabal said.

Chabal said he was annoyed to be suspended, but felt Racing were trying to protect him by sidelining him.

In an interview published last week in Le Journal du Dimanche newspaper, Chabal questioned the quality of the league's refs and accused them of favouring Castres and Biarritz.