the captain of the Bobigny rugby team considers it “inconceivable” to “endure this kind of comments”

“Dirty black”, “go home!”, “we are not in your city”… These words punctuated a Coupe de France meeting between Lons Section Paloise and AC Bobigny 93 Rugby, Sunday in Pau .

“It is inconceivable that in 2024, we could be subjected to this type of very serious comments”, denounces Wednesday April 3 on franceinfo Gabriela Tanga, captain of the Louves de Bobigny rugby team, after racist insults were uttered against her teammates on Sunday in Lons (Pyrénées-Atlantiques). She wants today “denounce racism on the ground” so that “real measures are taken”.

Gabriela Tanga was in the stands during the Women’s French Cup match between Lons Section Paloise and AC Bobigny 93 Rugby, Sunday in Lons. In the field, “one of my teammates was hit on the shoulder by a player” who called her “dirty black”, she says. There followed a “go home !” shouted in the audience, according to the captain. She also claims that another Pau player then launched “calm down, we’re not in your city” to one of the Bobigny players.

If there’s a next time, we’ll get off the field

“We didn’t have the impulse to go see the referee” who hasn’t heard the insults “to stop the match”explains Gabriela Tanga who warns that her team will take “the decision to leave the field” if an incident of this kind happens again, what she “don’t hope.” It is precisely to prevent “this from happening again” that the captain wants today “denounce racism on the ground”.

“We have a reputation for being thugs, just because we come from 93.”

Gabriela Tanga, captain of the Louves de Bobigny rugby team

at franceinfo

The captain highlights the stereotypes from which her team suffers. “We must be irreproachable on the pitch, even if we know that we are golden women and not savages as some may say,” she says.

An internal investigation opened at the Lons Section Paloise club

The Louves de Bobigny team “thanks” the French Rugby Federation which it judges “really invested” in the fight against racism but also asks that “real measures are taken”. The Lons Section Paloise club indicates that it has opened an internal investigation in a press release and that it is “ready to take necessary and appropriate measures”.

The incident caused Raquel Garrido to react on X. “The Louves de Bobigny make us proud. Is it the bitterness of defeat that the racists want to drown by wallowing in insult and shame? All Elite 1 rugby teams must take the necessary and drastic measures to prevent and punish racist attacks. writes the rebellious MP for Seine-Saint-Denis.