England's Dylan Hartley gets to grips with Scotland's Ross Ford during their clash at Murrayfield
© PA
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A sense of grievance crackled in the Parisian air as France expressed their surprise at how England hooker Dylan Hartley escaped punishment for a scuffle with Scotland's Ross Ford last weekend. The Daily Telegraph's Mick Cleary writes.
"It's incredible that he has not been cited," said France head coach Marc Lièvremont, speaking after making just one change, the return from injury of talismanic centre Mathieu Bastareaud, for the Grand Slam match against England at the Stade de France on Saturday night.
"Given that only 24 hours prior to the team announcement a specially-convened commission had upheld the jurisdiction of the swingeing sanctions imposed for gouging on two Stade Français international players, prop David Attoub (banned for 70 weeks) and scrum-half Julien Dupuy (23 weeks), elements in French rugby feel that there is one law for them and another for the rest of the rugby-playing world.
"That may not be the case, but that is their perception. In truth, Hartley appears initially to be no more than pushing Ford away before punches are thrown. What is more, Ford made no complaint."
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