Ulster Rugby have banned a supporter for life after concluding an investigation into verbal abuse of Racing full-back Simon Zebo.
Zebo revealed that he was abused from the stands during the game and Ulster have sanctioned a life-time ban on a spectator, for breaching their stadium regulations.
A statement on their website read:
“We would like to thank the many supporters who provided information to assist our investigation.
“We are all very proud of our reputation as an inclusive club and the unacceptable behaviour of this one individual is not reflective of our supporters, or the values of our club.
“We have issued a written apology to Simon Zebo and Racing 92.”
Zebo said in a recent interview with RugbyPass that he knew that he would be in a for a rough time given his taunting incident with young full-back Michael Lowry when the two sides met in Paris but he revealed that abuse is an issue that he’s been subjected to throughout his life.
“I knew I was in for a rough time from the crowd when I was going back to play,” Zebo said.
“It was all good-natured and what have you, it was going in one ear and out the other for 90% of the game and I think somebody just got a little bit carried away and there was a lot of noise going on, that’s why it will probably be difficult to find. But it was like (clicks fingers) someone just came up and whispered in my ear, you know some things that click and stick with you. So it was pretty clear to me what was said, which was disappointing, that I was coming back to play in my own country again.
“It was something that happened to me quite a bit when I was younger, you know you’re dealing with other kids or children or teenagers, who don’t have the intellect or education at the time to understand how things like that can hurt a person. So it was even more disappointing that I went home and it was an elderly man, 40-plus, so that’s why it just annoyed me a bit. But it is water off a ducks back now for me, I’d be quite bullet-proof in terms of that.
“But I think if I was just to saying nothing and accept it, then I wouldn’t be putting up much of a fight for myself and I don’t want to come across as a weak character like that for my kids, you know, I stand up for something if I think I believe in it.”
