Bernard Laporte will propose to the Minister of Sports his “withdrawal” from the presidency of the federation

The president of the French Rugby Federation (FFR) Bernard Laporte, sentenced on December 13 to two years in prison suspended for corruption, will propose Thursday to the Minister of Sports “his withdrawal” of his duties pending his appeal trial, announced Monday, December 19 the FFR. The former coach of the France team, who “remain president” of the association, will also submit to Amélie Oudéa-Castéra her provisional replacement by a delegate president, said the Federation in a press release, sent following the holding of a federal office in the morning.

According to the FFR, Mr. Laporte “informed the federal office of its desire to follow “to the letter” the injunction of the FFR ethics committee”who had asked him on December 16 to “withdraw temporarily, as a precaution, until a final criminal decision”. Therefore, the statement adds, “the federal office has decided unanimously by its members and in accordance with the regulations and statutes of our institution, to follow and apply to the letter the injunction of the ethics committee”.

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In office since the end of 2016, Bernard Laporte, re-elected in 2020 for a four-year term, was found guilty on December 13 of five of the six offenses for which he was prosecuted, including those of “passive corruption” and “trafficking in influence “. Having appealed the decision of the Paris Criminal Court, his suspended prison sentence, as well as the ban on exercising the activity of president of the FFR for a period of two years are not immediately enforceable.

Amélie Oudéa-Castéra had announced on Sunday that she would receive Bernard Laporte on Thursday, after having estimated, as soon as the judgment was made public, that the conviction of the former coach of the Blues made ” obstacle “ to his mission at the head of the FFR, nine months before the Rugby World Cup in France (September 8 – October 28, 2023).

The World with AFP

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