11/23/24
January 23, 2007
Worse than Cantona? : European Rugby Cup officials are to open an investigation into reports that Toulouse forward Trevor Brennan assaulted an Ulster fan during the Heineken match in France over the weekend. There are conflicting reports over what exactly was said to provoke the attack, but the pictures clearly show Brennan entering the stands and punching an Ulster supporter.
Didn't see it, apart from a tiny bit of the highlights. I don't have Sky and RTE only show Munster and Leinster matches (which didn't make for happy viewing let me tell you) in their "delayed coverage." I quite like Trevor Brennan, but assaulting a member of the crowd? I know he has a reputation for being a mite hot-headed, but still... Interesting to see Gareth Thomas also had to held back, I know he is supposed to be great friends with Brennan, always gets a mention in Brennan's ERC diary, so maybe he heard the insults too. Either that of he was just up for it as well.
posted by Fence at 07:37 AM on January 23, 2007
Gareth Thomas is an idiot, so it's not surprising at all to see that he was involved. But the whole incident sounds quite surreal. Players must hear this kind of thing all the time, and while I'm not excusing that kind of verbal abuse, Brennan's actions are way over the top. He wasn't even on the pitch at the time, so you can't even blame it on the heat of the moment. Needless to say, Brennan should be banned for life and I think he should also spend some time in jail. Cantona got 120 hours of community service for his kung-fu kick, but Brennan's assault seems a lot worse -- just more pre-meditated and unprovoked. If a whole section of the crowd was chanting, why go after that one guy?
posted by afx237vi at 08:04 AM on January 23, 2007
JJ, you know the guy? Really?
posted by chicobangs at 08:45 AM on January 23, 2007
By the way, I love how BBC gallery contains 10 pictures and only two of them show any rugby being played. Must've been helluva match.
posted by afx237vi at 08:48 AM on January 23, 2007
Looks like he throws a pretty mean left, though. I wish we could watch those matches here in the states. Not for the fighting, for the sport. I played a little American football growing up, but I never got my ass kicked like I did when I went out for the club rugby team in college. Those guys are nuts! Great game, though.
posted by carolinared at 09:16 AM on January 23, 2007
Chico - still not sure - I haven't lived in Northern Ireland (or been to an Ulster match) for six or seven years. I knew a guy of that name ten years ago, or even more, so I can't be absolutely sure that's him (given that his face was either obscured by Brennan's fist or deformed from its effects in those pictures), but I'd be willing to guess it is him. I've mailed my dad (who still lives there and goes to Ulster games all the time) to see if it is who I think it is. It's a small country. I played golf with this man for ten years before I realised who he was. It was really only after I moved away from Ireland that I realised from English rugby fan's reaction to his name that he was a bit of a legend. For me, he was always just "that guy Mike at the golf club." As some comedian or other once said: "The two worst things about being Irish? First, when you tell someone you're Irish, they immediately ask 'do you know my mate Seamus O'Whatever?' as though, just because you're from a small country, you're going to know everyone in it. The worst thing? You always know the fucker."
posted by JJ at 09:18 AM on January 23, 2007
In terms of the Cantona kung fu(YouTube video) comparisons, I think the key difference between this and the Cantona situation (and the Ron Artest situation in the NBA that is mentioned in the lead link, for that matter), is that Cantona at the time of his incident was one of the top players in the Premier League. Here, the actions of the player seem to be equally reprehensible and unjustified, but it doesn't seem to have the same cachet the Cantona thing did because of the name of the player involved and the fact that he (Cantona) played for a marquee club. From what I can gather, Brennan is a solid (but not superstar) player now on the downside of his career. So -- Worse than Cantona? Maybe in terms of the violence done towards the fan (Cantona's kick doesn't really seem to faze the guy). But not in terms of being a big black eye for a high-profile player or the league as a whole, at least in my (admittedly uninformed) opinion.
posted by holden at 09:59 AM on January 23, 2007
Toulouse are one of the big names in European club rugby, maybe even the biggest. So in one sense, it really is like Cantona. The difference is that Brennan is not one of the top glamour players on the team.
posted by salmacis at 10:08 AM on January 23, 2007
Brennan is very much on the downward side of his career, which actually may have had something to do with his reaction I suppose. His contract with Toulouse is up and he probably won't be resigned by them. I do love the French reaction though, supposedly the police told Bamford that it was a private matter between two individuals and they wouldn't interfere, and Toulouse officials have said that while they don't condone the incident it was a very human reaction. "It took a reiterated and unendurable provocation for him to react in an unacceptable but humanly understandable manner." It is also interesting because in their last few matches Ulster have quite a number of complaints made against them as regards racist and sectarian abuse. The most high profile being London Irish's accusations of racist comments by on an Ulster player. Although that seems as though it is a case of local terms not being understood. Supposedly McCullough called Armitage a Spide, which is a local word meaning something similar to chav or ned, and that it wasn't meant as a racist term. (self-link about that incident)
posted by Fence at 10:08 AM on January 23, 2007
Yeah, those reactions are very... not how it would have gone down here in North America. Which is commendable, really.
posted by chicobangs at 10:30 AM on January 23, 2007
I heard a bloke on radio 5 last night who claimed to have been close to the incident. According to him, there was good natured banter, but nothing malicious; the worst accusation was that Brennan serves crap Guinness in his bar. According to this bloke, Brennan looked around the crowd, then approached the guy very calmly and deliberately before raining blows upon him. If this is true, Brennan can't claim a momentary loss of control.......... it was a cold, calculated assault, with malice aforethought; which marks him out as a violent thug. As for Thomas, a berk, plain and simple, it's a wonder he didn't pop another vessel. Just this second heard on the radio that Brennan claims he was sorely provoked. That's alright then.
posted by Fat Buddha at 10:41 AM on January 23, 2007
Toulouse are one of the big names in European club rugby, maybe even the biggest. So in one sense, it really is like Cantona. The difference is that Brennan is not one of the top glamour players on the team. Thanks for the correction/additional info., salmacis -- I wasn't aware that Toulouse was a big-name side.
posted by holden at 10:52 AM on January 23, 2007
Fat Buddha, pardon me if I question the impartiality of that witness.
posted by chicobangs at 10:53 AM on January 23, 2007
I can't believe Brennan would punch Santa Claus! Must be an Eagles fan. I wish we could watch those matches here in the states. While primarily a soccer channel here in N. America, Setanta Sports shows quite a bit of rugby through DirecTV, who seem to have cornered the market on international sports. I love the Gaelic Football!
posted by Texan_lost_in_NY at 12:10 PM on January 23, 2007
Maybe he's not who I think he is (the punchbag). My old man reckons he's never heard of him and I'm mistaking him for someone else. I'll take his word for it. I have to say, to swerve violently towards the topic for a change, that I'd have to evoke the Zidane ruling here - whatever they said, laying someone out for giving you a bit of lip is never something you're going to come out of looking good.
posted by JJ at 12:35 PM on January 23, 2007
Ah Setanta Sports is fantabulous. I do love it, over here(Ireland) it is really starting to compete with Sky Sports, and since it part of my ntl package I do adore it. Okay so they have the less glamorous Magners League rather than the high profile Heineken cup rugby, but at least they got something. But, speaking of Gaelic Football, if anyone is in Dubai on the 27th Jan they might like to check out the GAA All Stars. Although that site's list of who is going and who isn't is a little out of date, Donaghy is playing basketball and the Gooch has a club match on, so they are missing out on the trip.
posted by Fence at 02:28 PM on January 23, 2007
Toulouse contend that a section of Ulster fans was chanting: "Brennan, your mother is a whore," a version backed yesterday by the player's uncle, George Brennan. "I'll back that up," said George. "She's a total slapper all right." That's either very careless writing or very amusingly done. I've a feeling I know the guy he hit - his name rings a bell, but if it is him, he has put on a lot of weight since last I saw him. If it is him, the whole thing becomes a little less surprising. Sounds like an ill-tempered afternoon. Was the game any good, Fence?