Boudjellal, who will appear before a disciplinary committee on Wednesday to answer charges of defamation and bringing the game into disrepute for his "refereeing sodomy" comments made after his team's loss to Clermont earlier this month, has refused to back down and has continued his calls for change in French rugby.

"If rugby wants to develop it must take into account the new face of France and that is 'black- blanc-beur,' " Boudjellal told La Provence newspaper, referring to the phrase popularised after France's 1998 soccer World Cup victory, to convey a spirit of multiculturalism ('beur' is a colloquial term use to for French-born people whose parents are immigrants from North Africa.)

"Today, if a certain section of the country is not at all interested in rugby, it's because it is very conservative, and reflects a very particular stereotypical Frenchness with which many people do not identify.

"French rugby is racist. It reflects a France which is very inward-looking and conservative."

"I've had racist insults hurled at me in stadiums. I regularly receive letters calling me a 'dirty Arab,' telling me I should return to Algeria.

"[So] no one can give me lessons on morality, education and politeness, especially in the rugby environment."

Boudjellal faces a 60-day suspension for his outbursts, but remains unapologetic.

"This summons demonstrates the limits of rugby....for me, people who are shocked by the word "sodomy" are old gits and I do not wish to be an old git," he added.

The situation looks set to become a political issue as French Secretary of State for Youth Jeannette Bougrab has come out in support of Boudjellal.

"I'd like to give him my full support because he's a terrific man," she said.

"What he's done at RCT is exemplary.

"It would be sad if sanctions were brought against him. I would find it fundamentally unjust."