Boudjellal cranks up the temperature

THEY MAY have heard the cheap jibes about Munster being funded by the IMF, and allegations about the state of Irish hospitality at Thomond Park but one wonders what the Munster brains trust will make of Toulon owner Mourad Boudjellal’s latest outburst against Tony McGahan’s men.

Speaking just days before his side’s crucial Heineken Cup clash with Munster at Stade Mayol, Boudjellal claimed that the Irish provinces received preferential treatment when it came to disciplinary sanctions in the Heineken Cup, citing Paul O’Connell’s return from suspension in time for Sunday’s showdown as an example.

“It’s not surprising,” claimed Boudjellal. “There are sanctions and there are ‘Euro-sanctions’ and when you’re Irish the Euro-sanctions are divided by 6.55957, which means that O’Connell was suspended for a month instead of six and a half months.”