Fans call for a lifetime ban for jockey Christophe Soumillon after he ELBOWED a rival off his horse
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The sickening moment when the Belgian jockey ELBOW a rival at 35kph off his horse and tumble him down the neck… but the stewards STILL let him race in Sunday’s £4million Arc de Triomphe
- Christope Soumillon pushed Rossa Ryan off his horse in Saint-Cloud
- One commenter likened it to ‘jumping out of a car roof at 35mph’
- Soumillon was immediately disqualified and given a two-month suspension
- The ban is believed to take effect after he races in the Arc this weekend
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A French jockey is allowed to compete in Europe’s richest horse race this weekend, despite being banned for 60 days for deliberately pushing a rival off his horse during a meeting on Friday.
In the shocking incident at Saint-Cloud, Christophe Soumillon knocked Rossa Ryan to the ground as they traveled side by side, leading to calls for the Belgian’s lifelong suspension.
Soumillon was immediately disqualified from the race and given a two-month suspension. But the suspension won’t start until after Sunday, allowing him to drive the famous Arc de Triomphe – a race with a total prize pool of £4 million.
Ryan appeared unharmed, but fell shockingly fast on an impact from a Sky Sports Racing pundit compared to ‘jumping out of a car roof at 35 mph’.
After the incident, Soumillon said: “I got a bit of pressure from Rossa’s mount. I tried to maintain a better position behind Ryan Moore.
“I put my elbow against him to tell him I wasn’t going in.
“Unfortunately, when I asked my horse to go there and to the right I pushed him (Rossa) a step or two and he fell off.
“I knew right away that I had made a mistake. I want to apologize to everyone. I just saw Rossa and he’s fine and so is the horse.
“It was not a nice act on my part and I am terribly sorry and would like to apologize.”
Rossa Ryan started losing his balance after being pushed halfway through the race by Christophe Soumillon
His fall was likened by a Sky commentator to ‘jumping out of a car sunroof at 35 mph’
Soumillon (right) banned from racing for two months after shocking incident
Race fans on Twitter thought the ban should have lasted longer because of the deliberate act, which was widely condemned on social media.
One said: ‘That would require a long ban! Insanity!’
Another added that it was “dangerous, reckless and clearly intentional.” Unbelievable’.
“60 days suspension for endangering a fellow jockey could have broken his neck and fractured his back, much worse if he had broken his neck he would have been banned for life,” they added.
“So why is it different that he’s lucky he wasn’t seriously injured?”
Rossa (right) wouldn’t have been injured after the fall, but it could have been a lot worse
Another fan said: ‘Shocking footage and the camera never lies, probably the worst intentional act I’ve ever seen by a jockey. Luckily he ran away.’
Another user added, “This is terrible from a great jockey.”
Soumillon will ride in the Arc on Sunday, where he is one of the favorites on Vadeni.
Soumillon faces calls to be banned for life after shocking incident in France
Ryan was fortunately unharmed despite the incident that occurred when the jockeys were traveling at about 35mph
The incident comes just 24 hours after a rider in Ecuador was banned for life after committing an equally shocking act with a fellow jockey.
Viral footage of the Ecuador derby incident hit online shows Joffre Mora deliberately pushing Luis Hurtado toward the end of the race.
Unlike Soumillon, the stewards acted quickly and suspended Mora for life – a penalty some believe should be imposed on the Belgian rider.
Mora’s actions have been labeled “the worst I’ve ever seen” by one Twitter user.
Another said: ‘Can literally be classified as attempted murder.’