Samoan player launches second Twitter tirade

Samoa's Eliota Fuimaono Sapolu (bottom right) has taken to Twitter again. REUTERS/Nigel Marple
Samoa's Eliota Fuimaono Sapolu (bottom right) has taken to Twitter again. REUTERS/Nigel Marple
Samoa centre Eliota Sapolu Fuimaono has branded a rugby World Cup referee "racist" and "biased" after his side were knocked out of the tournament following a 13-5 loss to South Africa.

Sapulo Fuimaono hit out at Welsh referee Nigel Owens on Twitter and also blasted the International Rugby Board (IRB), saying the organisers had conspired to ensure world champions South Africa advanced to the knockout phases.

The Samoan had previously apologised and escaped censure for an earlier outburst on the social media site in which he compared the scheduling of World Cup matches to the holocaust.

"Get s.a into next round. The plan was obvious," wrote the Samoan on his Twitter page (twitter.com@Eliota_Sapolu). "Man we got some horrible calls. That's why we need a neutral ref."

In the expletive-filled tirade, Sapulo Fuimaono wrote that there would have been an outcry if hosts New Zealand had to follow the same tightly packed schedule as Samoa.

The Samoans played all four of their group games in 16 days while the leading nations such as New Zealand, Australia and England had three weeks.

"If the All Blacks got the turnarounds we got, there would be 4 million twitter rants! RWC = who cares!!," he wrote.

"Wasn't about world cup today. RWC has been invalidated when they give us half the rest as the rich. It was about us v world champs."

A Samoa team spokesman said they had not seen the comments, nor had been contacted by the IRB about them. The team had dispersed after their elimination and Sapulo Fuimaono's comments were his own personal views.

"Eliota's comments are at a personal level and are quite different from the position of the team," the spokesman said. "Those are his personal comments and will be taken as such."

Referee Owens came under fire from both sides after the Pool D clash at North Harbour Stadium on Friday, with Samoa captain Mahonri Schwalger calling the Welshman inconsistent, while media pundits in New Zealand also criticised his performance.

The 30-year-old Sapolu Fuimaono, who had appeared to be drinking during the rant, mentioning that he was "tanked", added that he had retired from international rugby and repeated his criticism of the IRB's policy of giving the smaller nations a condensed playing schedule

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