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Catalans Dragons could suffer an “unprecedent punishment” in the future says RFL

Today it has been confirmed that Catalans Dragons have been fined £25,000, half of which has been suspended until the end of the 2023 season.

This follows what the RFL describes as “the misbehaviour of their supporters” at the Betfred Super League Play-Off fixture against Leeds Rhinos in September which Leeds won in a tension filled night which saw a number of Catalans Dragons stars shown cars as their season ended with Liam Sutcliffe scoring a hat-trick.

The sanctions follow a number of previous incidents of either “spectator misbehaviour” or “unacceptable criticism of match officials” for which the club have been punished in recent seasons.

This £25,000 fine is an agreed decision between the RFL and the club – with Catalans also pledging to launch a proactive education campaign underlining the importance of improving spectator behaviour, specifically relating to match officials.

In the agreed decision, the club acknowledge that supporters had thrown items on to the field of play during the fixture against Leeds, with matters escalating in the 78th minute when the touch-judges felt it necessary to take evasive action as they stood behind the posts.

Further objects were thrown at the match officials as they left the field, and there was a further aggressive incident requiring a response from security staff as the officials left the stadium.

The club need to deliver on their promise to fix these problems with the RFL also warning that further infringements could result in an unprecedented punishment.

They said:

“The club have also been instructed that any further misbehaviour will lead to an unprecedented punishment in the Super League era of having to play two home games behind closed doors – a sanction that has also been suspended until the end of the 2023 season.”

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