Top 14 chiefs to meet over merger
Racing's billionaire owner Jacky Lorenzetti and Stade Francais counterpart Thomas Savare announced the plan on Monday and Stade Francais players have threatened industrial action.
The Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR) said the proposal "provokes many reactions, questions and concerns, both for the social and cultural impacts linked to this merger and the sporting consequences for the Top 14.
"Representatives of both sporting companies [professional] and associations [amateur], players' representatives and coaches 'were invited to a meeting' to assess and ensure the best handling of all dimensions of the proposal".
"The LNR calls for dialogue, will pay close attention to this affair, unprecedented in the world of professional rugby, and intends to work to ensure the interests of all stakeholders, particularly the players, coaches and employees of the two clubs."
Stade Francais lock Pascal Pape, a 65-times capped France international, slammed the fusion of the winners of the past two Top 14 titles into one super club as "the death of 136 years of the club's history".
Players voted overwhelmingly for strike action and will not train or play in Saturday's Top 14 clash against Castres.
Rival clubs expressed fears over the creation of a new super club while the French Rugby Federation and the Paris city government complained they had been kept in the dark about the move.
Lorenzetti paved the way for a cull of players, saying half the combined roster of about 90 professionals could be axed.
Agence France-Presse
