Rugby: French club player Josaia Raisuqe sent off for lifting referee in victory celebration

Josaia Raisuqe celebrates victory by lifting referee. Video / Canal+

By Rugbypass

Bizarre scenes played out in France's second-tier Pro D2 on Friday when a player was red carded for celebrating his side's win by lifting the referee into the air.

The incident played out in the dying stages of Nevers' 30-25 victory over hosts Beziers, when referee Laurent Millotte blew full-time on the match.

Beziers wing Josaia Raisuqe celebrated his side's win immediately after the full-time whistle sounded by grabbing Millotte by the waist and lifting him into the air.

Referee Laurent Millotte is lifted into the air. Photo / Twitter

Raisuqe was promptly sent off by Millotte, even though the incident took place after the match had finished, leaving the former Fijian sevens representative with an automatic suspension as per Pro D2 rules.

Reactions to Raisuqe's celebration were mixed, with Nevers head coach Xavier Pemeja labelling the act as unacceptable.

"It's intolerable. He'll be punished by the league's disciplinary committee," Pemeja told Canal+ television.

Speaking to Midi Olympique the following dy, Pemeja added: "I know that Raisuqe's gesture, in the current situation where people need lightness, makes everyone laugh, but it is unacceptable.

"The referee is the guarantor of this game. He is the judge of rugby. To touch the referee is to touch the institution and that is not done. We do not touch an institution."

Others found the funny side of the Lion King-esque gesture, while some thought Raisuqe's actions were "ridiculous" as many taking to Twitter to share their thoughts, including the wife of top international referee Wayne Barnes who promised "If someone does this to my husband I'll give them 20 quid".

Recently retired and legendary rugby referee Nigel Owens had a suitably hilarious response to the incident.

"As so many of you are asking what I would have done here. I'd have blown the whistle and said: 'I'd want to be on Strictly Come Dancing before I agreed to be lifted like that'".

If someone does this to my husband I’ll give them 20 quid. https://t.co/yesDP2iRJq

— polly barnes (@pollybarnes_) January 8, 2021

This isn't the first time Raisuqe has courted controversy in his career, as the 26-year-old was sacked from Stade Francais in 2017 for "gross misconduct" after he was accused of sexual assault.

The victory keeps Nevers in sixth-place on the Pro D2 standings at the halfway stage of the competition, which would be enough to qualify for the play-offs.

However, both seventh-placed Provence and ninth-placed Montauban could overtake Raisuqe's side in the coming weeks with games in hand.

Beziers, meanwhile, remain in eighth place, trailing Nevers by four points.