ProD2 side sack former Clermont scrumhalf over on-field comments

ProD2 side Provence have fired former Clermont scrumhalf Ludovic Radosavljevic after he was reprimanded for racially abusing an opponent earlier this year.

In September Radosavljevic was suspended for 26 weeks worth of matches after he was found guilty of racially abusing Nevers’ Cameroonian winger Christian Ambadiang. The ban will last for a period of seven-and-a-half months and he will be free to play on April 25 next year.

Ambadiang had expressed on social media his indignation after allegedly hearing “I’m going to burn you, banana eater” directed at him by an opposition player during the course of a September 3 match against Provence.

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He didn’t name the 32-year-old at the time and it was only when the ex-Castres and Clermont player posted a message on social media some days later that it became known who was the Provence culprit responsible for the terrible comments.

Radosavljevic penned an apology on social media following the incident: “Following recent events, and after an apology already formulated immediately in the locker room, I would like to publicly and officially present my apologies to Christian Ambadiang for my remarks which are unacceptable.

“Following a chain of events in a tense match, my words went beyond my thought. I measure the gravity of my actions and take full responsibility for it, also apologising to all the people who were shocked by this. It is not part of my values nor of those that I pass on to my children. I remain a human who makes mistakes and learns from them.”

Provence had said prior to the decision they were going “to meet with the player and punish him in a manner befitting of the seriousness of the facts of the case.” They have now fired him.

It could spell the end of his career, one which saw the scrumhalf make 108 appearances for Clermont and 73 for Castres.