SirFozzie
05-24-2005, 05:32 PM
Scotland's first rugby European Cup final descended into farce last night as the coach of the winning team was arrested seconds after the final whistle.
Guy Noves, the coach of the French team Toulouse, was restrained by six policemen when he tried to jump into the crowd to receive congratulations from family members. He was celebrating his side's extra-time Heineken Cup success against Stade Francais at Murrayfield. Toulouse supporters should have been watching an ecstatic team collect their cup.
Instead, they were transfixed with the image of their coach struggling with officers as he tried to explain who he was. He was seen by a large proportion of the 51,000 crowd and millions of television viewers apparently lashing out at one policeman before being dragged through the players' tunnel shouting and yelling.
This treatment prompted howls of derision from Toulouse fans, who refused to leave the stadium. Noves was released after 30 minutes - having missed the cup presentation - and his return to the pitch was greeted with deafening cheers from the supporters.
Guy Noves, the coach of the French team Toulouse, was restrained by six policemen when he tried to jump into the crowd to receive congratulations from family members. He was celebrating his side's extra-time Heineken Cup success against Stade Francais at Murrayfield. Toulouse supporters should have been watching an ecstatic team collect their cup.
Instead, they were transfixed with the image of their coach struggling with officers as he tried to explain who he was. He was seen by a large proportion of the 51,000 crowd and millions of television viewers apparently lashing out at one policeman before being dragged through the players' tunnel shouting and yelling.
This treatment prompted howls of derision from Toulouse fans, who refused to leave the stadium. Noves was released after 30 minutes - having missed the cup presentation - and his return to the pitch was greeted with deafening cheers from the supporters.