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Article: Agen are banned for throwing Vale game.
- Article from:
- Daily Mail (London)
- Article date:
- February 22, 2002
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 Solo Syndication Limited. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: PETER JACKSON
FRENCH club Agen were found guilty of rugby union's first match-throwing scandal last night after deliberately losing a European Shield tie at Ebbw Vale last month.
The club, whose famous players include Philippe Sella and Abdel Benazzi, were fined 14,000 and banned from all European competitions for the next two seasons.
Agen were accused of throwing the game in order to concentrate on winning the French domestic championship. They had to lose the Ebbw Vale match by eight tries and proceeded to do so, slumping to a 59-10 beating which enabled them to avoid qualifying for the semi-finals of Europe's secondary tournament.
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