Stade Official spits on Ulster Photographer

[ColinM]

I hope the feck they ban this 'club official' fella as well. I'm sure Gusher wouldnt just go making wild accusations like this without seeing it with his own peepers.

A sports photographer from Northern Ireland was allegedly spat at during a rugby game over claims he 'doctored' photos of an eye-gouging incident.

Oliver McVeigh took pictures of Stade Francais scrum-half Julien Dupuy appearing to attack Ulster's Stephen Ferris during a game on 12 December.

Mr Dupuy was given a 24-week ban but his club has disputed the authenticity of the photographs.

Mr McVeigh declined to comment on his alleged abuse by a French official.

The eye-gouging incident happened during Stade's 23-13 European Cup loss.

Pictures analysed

Julien Dupuy's team-mate David Attoub was also implicated in the attack on the Ulster player and is still waiting to hear his fate.

Mr McVeigh was asked to submit his pictures to the European Club Rugby for analysis following French claims that they had been altered.

BBC rugby commentator Jim Neilly told BBC Radio Ulster that the photographer "was quite badly abused and actually spat upon by a French official in the Stade Fracais ground at the weekend" referring to the second leg match in Paris on 20 December in Ulster suffered a 29-16 loss.

"They were saying that those photographs had been doctored and that is why he {Dupuy} was suspended on an interim basis and there will be a proper hearing once they have had a really good look at the evidence which is being sent off I think to Manchester University," Mr Neilly said.

He added that if David Attoub is found guilty then he suspected that his ban could be as long as a year.

Meanwhile, Julien Dupuy has launched an appeal against his ban which the president of his club has described as "excessive" and "anti-French".

If the ban stands, the player will miss France's Six Nations campaign in February.

[cables]

The edit in brackets has the wrong player name. It was Attoub who was given an interim ban pending further evidence.

"They were saying that those photographs had been doctored and that is why he {Dupuy} was suspended on an interim basis and there will be a proper hearing once they have had a really good look at the evidence which is being sent off I think to Manchester University," Mr Neilly said.

[Freddie Benson]

Goes to underline the disgusting approach of SDF to this whole affair. It's not just the players involved, but the coaching and management set-up as well.
They've admitted doing wrong, there is unrefutable evidence of them doing so but now the club is systematically attempting to undermine the disciplinary process.
Truly despicable.

[HwoodMike2umate]

They attack our fans, gouge our players eyes , spit on our photographers and are just generally bad losers.
Thats why i love the frog teams being in this competition.

[Jackie Brown]

They attack our fans, gouge our players eyes , spit on our photographers and are just generally bad losers.
Thats why i love the frog teams being in this competition.

Fans attacked?

[Cap'n Grumpy]

They attack our fans, gouge our players eyes , spit on our photographers and are just generally bad losers.
Thats why i love the frog teams being in this competition.

Fans attacked?

I think he refers to an Irish frog in Toulouse a couple of years ago

[Jackie Brown]

ahhh yeah that incident. At least we now have a reason why Gareth Thomas got so wound up, Love interest?

[Snipe Watson]

ahhh yeah that incident. At least we now have a reason why Gareth Thomas got so wound up, Love interest?

the very thought of it

[Lanzaman]

ahhh yeah that incident. At least we now have a reason why Gareth Thomas got so wound up, Love interest?

the very thought of it

Mmmmm, GC ,any comment?

[Tazz #15]

Have to say I found this thread quite intriguing. Just as the dust was settling on last weeks events, Stade manage to trail their name through the dirt again. Bumped into Beaker, John Dickson, the Ulster photographer this morning, and he described the whole goings on, which I found quite shocking!

At the end of the game Oliver McVeigh was making his way to the press room, which was in close proximity to the pitch at Jean Bouin, when a member of the Stade management started to give him a hard time, harping on about the Attoub incident (for those of you that don’t know, although most of you probably do, McVeigh took the pic of Attoubs finger in 1F’s eye, the one which stade later claimed had been “doctored”!). He proceeded to call Oliver a liar. He then stooped to the lowest of lows and spat on McVeigh. McVeigh finally got into the media room where Beaker and Darren Kidd had already started into their work, writing reports and sending their pictures back home. Beaker said McVeigh was really shook up, and the frog’s spit was still sitting on the front of his jacket.

As the trio worked to get their photos sent back home the Stade official in question started to have a go at Beaker and told him that he was not welcome and to get out. The big man thought this was probably because he was asked by the ERC to pull together the visual evidence for Fridays hearing, and therefore the pictures were accredited to Dickson digital, the logo of which Beaker has on his camera lens. Beaker ignored the little man and got on with his work, as he was entitled to do. However, the Stade grounds man then turned up and started trying to remove Beaker’s kit bag and gear from the room, not the thing to do, as the big man got very upset, and a second Frenchman was sent packing by the big Ulster man.

10 minutes later Beaker packed up his kit as he thought the Stade officials might try and break his camera and lenses, as they were beginning to gradually throw more and more toys out of the pram, growing more and more agitated by the second, fed up with being ignored. McVeigh and Kidd worked on whilst Beaker went to get Davy Millar and the ERC CEO, Derek McGrath. He then put his gear onto the team coach for safety and went back to make sure the other two boys had got their work finished. However, by the time Beaker got back to the media room, a mob had gathered with the Stade official barking out the instructions to his heavys, including the returning groundsman. He gave the instruction to clear the room, including the sweet and innocent french reporters, who understandably got upset because they were clueless as to what was going on.

Beaker made the point to the McGrath that it is a requirement of the host club to make available their facilities to the media for an hour and a half after the final whistle, and that Kidd, McVeigh and himself needed to file their pictures immediately.

The Stade official was having none of it; the Ulster photographers were not welcome and just had to leave there and then. After a bit of shoving about and an exchange of views, including some more threatening chat aimed in McVeigh’s direction, Davy Millar told Beaker to take McVeigh onto the team coach where he would be safe. Beaker stayed with him to make sure he could get his work done in safely.

McVeigh, and also Niall Crozier of the Belfast Tele (who had also been on the end of some of Stade’s threatening behaviour), felt so threatened, that Davy Millar made them travel to the airport on the team bus, rather than having to walk about outside the ground trying to find a taxi, where there was an obvious threat to their safety.

Sounds like a right royal ruckus, but from what I gather, just like the team on the pitch over the two matches, our men stood up for themselves and gave as good as they got.

SUFTU

[aarons]

if what happened between ulster and stade - gouging, brussels nonsense, intimidation - had happened to leinster or musnter, the british and irish media would still be talking about it now, and would be doing so into the new year. the relative silence given everything is a disgrace.

[Rooster]

Absolute disgrace Tazz, I hope Beaker et al are filing a report on their treatment to the ERC and action is taken, if Blackett hears all this, although not directly connected to Attoub, I'm sure it will not help Stade in their defence as it will be in the back of his mind. If ylou thought your man was innocent of a charge the last thing you would want to do is make war with the authorities and behave in that manner.

[Tazz #15]

I know rooster, just sums up the whole stade attitude!

Beakers concluding words were "I don't think we have heard the last of this." Suggesting to me that they will file reports, and rightly so.

I personally also think that there is more to the game being called off than meets the eye! If you ask me that was more of stade's dirty tricks, but hey, maybe i've just still got a slight taste of sour grapes in my mouth from the weekend!I know that is off topic, but i cant help but think that is the case!

[BR]

if what happened between ulster and stade - gouging, brussels nonsense, intimidation - had happened to leinster or musnter, the british and irish media would still be talking about it now, and would be doing so into the new year. the relative silence given everything is a disgrace.

The problem is Aaron - it's the media who witnessed the whole thing - but I haven't read any press report about it. These people are supposed to be reporters (OK not the photographers, but you know what I mean).

[Shan]

if what happened between ulster and stade - gouging, brussels nonsense, intimidation - had happened to leinster or musnter, the british and irish media would still be talking about it now, and would be doing so into the new year. the relative silence given everything is a disgrace.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dr3In858tQk