ESL set to use French referees

Two French referees could be active in Super League in the 2006 season, according to Rugby Football League Match Officials Director Stuart Cummings.

Cummings spent part of last week in France meeting with French match officials in Toulouse, and yesterday he revealed to ?Rugby Leaguer & League Express? that he would like to see French referees in Super League as early as next season.

?Recently I have been spending some time in France with French referees, and we have spoken about a plan for getting their referees to international standard,? revealed Cummings.

?We have targeted two officials in particular, Thierry Alibert and Jean-Pierre Boulagnan, as potential Super League referees.

?The next step is to get them over here to referee some games in the National Leagues before the end of the season.

Both of these officials are good referees in their own right, and it will be a good experience for us and for them.