Saturday 20 April 2019 20:49, UK
Tournament organisers have condemned a spectator who appeared to confront England forward Billy Vunipola following Saracens' Heineken Champions Cup semi-final victory over Munster.
Vunipola scored Saracens' second try in an impressive 32-16 semi-final triumph.
A picture of the incident showed Vunipola being approached by a man wearing a Munster shirt, gesturing at him with his fingers as Vunipola joined teammates on a lap of honour.
The number eight had been booed most times he touched the ball at Coventry's Ricoh Arena, where Munster fans heavily outnumbered Saracens supporters among a 16,000 crowd.
Vunipola received formal warnings from his club and the RFU in the past week after he posted on social media that "man was made for woman to procreate that was the goal no?"
He also liked a social media post from controversial Australian back Israel Folau that stated "hell awaits" for homosexuals.
In a statement, European Professional Club Rugby said: "EPCR does not condone the entry of a spectator to the field of play.
"Following the regrettable incident at the Ricoh Arena, the spectator in question is currently being detained by the stadium authorities."
Saracens director of rugby Mark McCall said he did not see the post-match incident.
McCall said: "Billy was outstanding today, and so were all of his team-mates, to be honest.
"As a group, we were determined not to let this week pass us by because we work incredibly hard to be involved in weeks like this one, games like this one.
"And we ended up having a brilliant week, and you can see that in the performance today. You could see how tight we were.
"The club dealt with it [Vunipola social media posts]. It's been dealt with, it was dealt with decisively, it was dealt with quickly, and it was dealt with - in my opinion - fairly.
"Then we just got on with the rugby, and that's what we are here to do, get on with the rugby."
A final against holders Leinster or Toulouse awaits for Saracens in Newcastle next month as the Premiership champions target a third Champions Cup title in four seasons.
McCall said: "I thought we played really well. Although the scoreboard said 12-9 at half-time, it didn't feel like that.
"The thing that pleased me most was that the players understood that the scoreboard did not necessarily reflect how well we had played and what we were building towards.
"I was just really pleased with our intensity, which was relentless the whole game, and the control we had emotionally as well."
Munster suffered a seventh successive European semi-final defeat on their record 14th appearance in the competition's penultimate knockout stage.
Munster head coach Johann van Graan added: "We came here to win, but we were beaten by a better side on the day.
"Sometimes you have just got to say well done to the opposition.
"They are unbeaten in this season's tournament and have been playing some fantastic rugby, and you have got to concede that you weren't as good as your opposition on the day."
