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Hey,
Found this on the Northampton forums,
Apparently one of the users there was on a train....
"we were on the same train as dave rose who was the 4th official, he said that the stadium safety officer came up to him to say that he had to stop the game because someone in the crowd had complained that they had heard racial abbuse on the pitch. mr rose was waiting for a break in play (a score) but nothing was forthcoming so he had no choice but to call the ref over and explain the situation. he also talked to some of the players after the game and they were bemused as the supporters. ps mr rose refed our game last week he is a nice guy"
And from the same forum....
'' Times online has a few more details;
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article...361550,00.html
According to David Powell, the Northampton ground manager, the complaints came from four spectators — three Bath supporters and one Northampton fan — who were sitting together. They communicated their concerns to a steward, who passed them on to senior security officials. The fourth official was then alerted.
Last night it was claimed that six Bath supporters had given signed witness statements to security officials at Franklin’s Gardens, alleging that Andy Higgins, the Bath wing, had been called a “black ” by a Northampton player in the second half after he refused to return the ball to the Saints after the referee had blown his whistle for an infringement.
Higgins, however, refused to shed any light on the alleged incident, saying: “There are always strong words, but I don’t know about any of these allegations, and I’m not going to talk about it.”
Lets be clear, if the allegations are true then this sort of behaviour is wrong in any sport and should not be tolerated.
However the fact that initial reports said both sides were involved, but then six Bath fans decided it was only Saints players involved, it does sound a bit like sour grapes to me. Especially when the players involved say nothing happened''
Its strange that a game can get stopped for complaint of this nature. I dont recall that the same thing happened with Justin Harrison a few years ago, but I suppose in that case the crowd were not in ear shot.
If therewas a bomb threat then that would be a different story.
cheers
chook