It's a curious story, like professional rugby now knows how to produce. According to information from World, a player sued the industrial tribunal against the French Stadium for breach of promise of employment on a fixed-term employment contract, even though he never played for the Paris team.
It is not just anyone: winger Marika Koroibete was elected by his compatriots as best Australian rugby player of the year 2019, in recognition, in particular, of his three World Cup tries.
The trial hearing is scheduled for Monday February 24 in Paris. The player’s lawyer, Lionel Thomasson, has asked the plaintiff for more than € 1.1 million to make up for the three and a half season contract that the 27-year-old three-quarter wing was preparing to sign.
The pre-contract – of which we are aware – provided that he joined the club after the 2019 World Cup and that he remained there at least until 2023. According to the arguments of Me Thomasson, this document is a promise unilateral employment contract.
An image contract in question
The reasons for this turnaround are not obvious at first sight. In an October 2018 email, the club’s sporting director Robert Mohr sent a dismissal to Matt Adamson, the player’s advisor, his unofficial agent. Mr. Mohr announces his decision to"Abandon the project" recruitment. The club has "Serious concerns" from a legal point of view, he explains.
Five months later, in another email, the French stadium clarified to Thomasson: the fears concern in particular a "Image contract" considered in parallel with the classic contract.
The world also took note of the document preparatory to this image contract. Robert Mohr used two separate email addresses to negotiate. That of the French Stadium, his professional address, to send the classic pre-contract. And his personal address, to discuss the image rights contract.
Martin Kleppe, representative of the Swiss company Wild Group, the entity of the billionaire Hans-Peter Wild, owner of the Stade Français, was also associated with the discussion of the second contract.
In the small world of French rugby, the use of an image contract is nothing wrong. Provided that it is declared to enter the calculation of the "salary cap", each club is required to respect a salary ceiling to compensate its players: 11.3 million euros per season.
