Toulon owner Mourad Boudjellal has launched a second stinging attack on former All Blacks winger Julian Savea after making outrageous comments that he "wasn't welcome" at the French club anymore.
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The latest criticism includes Savea's decision to attend his brother Ardie's wedding in Fiji and questioning the winger's fitness, attitude and "very demanding" behaviour regarding his salary and contract.
On Monday, Boudjellal made some explosive comments about Savea following the side's 19-10 Top 14 defeat to Agen last week.
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"I'm going to ask for a DNA test. They must have swapped him on the plane [when he joined from the Hurricanes last year]. If I were him I would apologise and go back to my home country," Mourad Boudjellal told French radio RMC.
"I've told him that he was free to go and wasn't welcome at Toulon any more," he added.
Boudjellal backed up those comments today in an interview with Le Parisien.
"I find his behavior unacceptable. I went through the quarter-finals of the 2015 France-New Zealand World Cup and I always wonder if it's the same player, the same man," Boudjellal said.
"What I do not admit is that we pay him dearly. The negotiations have been very difficult, he has been very demanding and since he has been here, he is no longer. I can not think it's normal for a player paid more than 1 million euros per year to go on holiday to Fiji for a month in December...he just had to attend his brother's wedding, not take long leave," he added.
Boudjellal claims he has spoken to Savea following his comments.
"Oh yes. He is very nice, polite. They are very strong, with his wife, to complain about social networks. When he was in Fiji, he did not look unhappy. He tweeted that he was going to train hard. He will not be disappointed.
"He has a little more than a year of contract, it will be very long for him. Beyond what he thinks. I will not complain. You think he gave a little of his salary to the young Simon Moretti, who is 18, touches 500 euros a month and defended the club while he returned quietly vacation? No."
Savea responded to the initial damning criticism on social media with a post on Twitter.
Putting all the negativity behind me and heading into this week with a positive attitude🤘🏾whether I am welcomed or not I am still contracted to my team and I will continue to train week in and week out with my brothers #endofstory #letsmoveon pic.twitter.com/y7QBqLOyVV
— Julian Savea (@juliansavea7) February 17, 2019
"Heading into this week with a positive attitude, whether I am welcomed or not I am still contracted to my team and I will continue to train week in and week out with my brothers #endofstory #letsmoveon," the winger posted.
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Savea's brother and fellow All Black, Ardie, retweeted the post in support.
Ardie also hailed his support for a tweet made by former Australian rugby union player Drew Mitchell, who called out Boudjellal's comments.
"This type of carry on from [Boudjellal] won't exactly entice other players to play for [Toulon]. Business or not you just don't treat ppl [sic] like this," Mitchell wrote.
"F****** amen," responded Ardie.
Love you uso❤️ lesgooo🔥 https://t.co/q9P6KnRDfw
— ardie savea (@ardiesavea) February 17, 2019
Earlier this week, Savea's wife Fatima hit back at Toulon fans on social media following vile comments.
Toulon fans took to social media with abusive comments directed at Savea, labelling him a "fatman" with breasts bigger than his wife and saying they wished his mother got cancer.
Fatima responded, saying she was "absolutely disgusted by this s***" on Twitter.
"Take a minute to think about how your words can affect someone's life and their mental health," she tweeted.
"And people wonder why mental health in rugby had become a big problem. Take a minute to be considerate of people's feelings instead of bashing them behind a keyboard or phone screen.
"With rugby you are only as good as your team is. It's not an individual sport it's a team sport and sometimes you can be let down by your team.
"But that shouldn't give anyone the right to ridicule a player and their livelihood because no one knows what these players go through on a daily basis and the struggles they face.".
Boudjellal has a history making controversial statements. In 2017 he praised Ali Williams' negotiation skills after he was caught buying cocaine in Paris while last year he defended Toulon centre Mathieu Bastareaud's use of a homophobic slur in a match because it had 'entered common language'.
The 28-year-old, who scored 46 tries in 54 tests for the All Blacks, signed a four-year deal with New Zealand Rugby in May 2015 that made him one of the highest paid players in New Zealand history, earning an estimated $800,000 a year.
However he was released from that deal last year following the Super Rugby season after agreeing a two-year deal with Toulon.
A Toulon statement said on confirming his arrival last year: "This is one of the stars of world rugby that joins the Rugby Club Toulonnais for the next two seasons.
"Equipped with an exceptional physique (1,91m for 108kg), Julian Savea is also a fast player, able to overflow, to win one-on-one duels, to catch high balls and to play after him.
"A complete player who can also evolve at the center position and further improve the line of three-quarters of the RCT."
However Savea has scored just one try in 10 matches since joining the club. Toulon currently sit 11th on the table with six wins from their opening 16 games.
Savea's former Hurricanes teammate Nehe Milner-Skudder looks set to replace him at Toulon next season having signed a three-year deal.
"Some players are average because they want to leave and others because they have a cheque to take, and they can not find a better cheque elsewhere. Many will be released," Boudjellal told RMC Sport.
Tough match over the weekend with the brothers. Now it’s time to refresh the body over the next week off rugby, train hard and mentally prepare for the rest of the season. Thanks for all the support 🤟🏾🤟🏾 #RCT pic.twitter.com/SCKCr1wgVH
— Julian Savea (@juliansavea7) January 30, 2019
"A one-year contract, he can do what he wants, it can be long for the club a year but especially very long for the player ... for me, he is released," Boudjellal said about Savea.
"His brother looks a lot like him ... we will have at least learned that some physical resemblances are really striking," he added in what seems to be a comparison between Julian Savea and his All Black brother Ardie.
In November, Savea was involved in car accident when he fell asleep behind the wheel and he angered the club's fanbase by attending his brother's wedding in Fiji in December.
"Let me set the record straight," Fatima Savea, Julian's wife, tweeted at the time.
"Before Julian signed his contract he asked for time off in December to attend his ONLY brother's wedding. So this was agreed upon by both the club and Julian or else Julian would not have come to Toulon in September and instead in January."
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