A journalist from Ici Pays basque was reportedly attacked on Friday night during a live broadcast by angry supporters of Stade Aurillacois following their club’s defeat (24-27) to Biarritz Olympique.
Thomas Palmier, who was commentating on the Pro D2 rugby match at the Jean-Alric stadium in Aurillac, “was reportedly struck at least twice by supporters behind him at the end of the match,” explained Ttotte Darguy, director of Ici Pays basque. The journalist, brother of Grenoble’s fly-half Marc Palmier, filed a complaint with the police, according to Midi Olympique, another one of his employers.
In an audio excerpt from his broadcast, the journalist can be heard exclaiming, moments after a Biarritz try marked the end of the match: “BO did it! What a game! (…) You want to hit me? But stop, sit down, let me work. (…) Go home, don’t hit me like that.” In the studio, his colleague begins to worry: “It’s starting to get hot on Aurillac’s side, we’ll take a few seconds break to let everyone calm down a bit.”
In a statement, the management of Ici and Ici Pays Basque network strongly condemned “these intolerable attacks” against the journalist who was “violently assaulted.”
The National Rugby League (LNR) also strongly condemned on Saturday “the aggression suffered by a journalist from radio Ici Pays Basque,” denouncing “unacceptable actions.” “The LNR has launched an investigation to shed light on this incident and take appropriate action,” it emphasized in its statement.
On Friday night, Stade Aurillacois also quickly expressed support for the assaulted journalist, pledging to “do what we can to identify the culprits.”
