Super League owner Bernard Guasch given hefty five-figure punishment

Bernard Guasch, owner and president of Catalans Dragons, has tonight been fined £10,000 (£2,500 suspended for three years) for comments made about the match officials following last month’s Super League Grand Final.

The tribunal found Guasch to have breached the following Operational Rules.

C2:6 – Failure to adhere to policy RESPECT and TACKLEIT
C2:10 – Behaviour standards
C2:11 – Unacceptable language
C2:12 – Match Officials – Public statements
D1:1(b) – Conduct prejudicial to the interests of the game

The comments were made in the wake of the showpiece Grand Final event at Old Trafford, whereby the French owner stated he would ‘never play another final under English referees.’

Catalans ended up losing that game in nailbiting fashion by 12-10.

He said: “As long as I’m president of the Catalans Dragons, I’ll never play a Super League final again until we have three Australian referees.

“I’m furious, at some point I say stop? I wanted to react like an English gentleman because I have a lot of respect for this competition.

“I am proud to have lived these three extraordinary days at Old Trafford as the English know how to organise them.

“But I saw the match again and I tell myself that I cannot let this go by without reacting and making a decision.”