Ten days from running for his succession at the head of the French Rugby Federation (FFR), Bernard Laporte was placed in police custody, Tuesday, September 22 in Paris, at the brigade for the repression of economic delinquency (BRDE) in the investigation into its links with the Altrad group.
The boss of the group, Mohed Altrad, owner of Montpellier Hérault Racing (MHR) and sponsor of the Blues, was also taken into custody by the financial police, just like the boss of the World-2023, Claude Atcher, and two senior officials of the Federation, Serge Simon and Nicolas Hourquet.
Bernard Laporte is particularly suspected of having favored the MHR by intervening with the FFR’s appeal committee to reduce sanctions against the club at the end of June 2017.
The boss of French rugby, 56, arrived Tuesday morning at the premises of the BRDE to which the National Financial Prosecutor’s Office (PNF) had entrusted the investigations in 2017, corroborating sources confirmed. The vice-president of the FFR, Serge Simon, also presented himself to the BRDE on Tuesday morning.
Bernard Laporte, former coach of the Blues (2000-2007), then secretary of state in charge of sports under Nicolas Sarkozy (2007-2009), then manager of the Toulon team (2011-2016), has always defended himself of any intervention in favor of Montpellier, even if he admitted to having telephoned the president of the commission, Jean-Daniel Simonet.
Inspectors general from the sports ministry also established in a report sent to the courts that the decisions of the commission were “Modified” between June 29 and 30, 2017. As a first step, the appeal committee would have decided to confirm the sanctions pronounced by the League (LNR), that is to say 70,000 euros of fine and a match behind closed doors, before moving on to 20,000 euros fine and a stay of the game behind closed doors. The file concerned the deployment of banners hostile to the League by supporters of the MHR.
The Altrad group becomes sponsor of the XV of France
Three months earlier, the Altrad group, specializing in building materials, had become the first sponsor of the France XV jersey, before supporting the French candidacy, ultimately victorious, for the organization of the 2023 World Cup.
In revealing the case in August 2017, the JDD also brought to light the existence of a contract between BL Communication, a company managed by Bernard Laporte, and Altrad Investment Authority for an amount of 150,000 euros. Under the pressure, the former manager of Toulon had given up.
The police have already heard from several protagonists in 2019, in particular the three members of the FFR appeal commission who were to judge the case on June 29, 2017.
End of term of Bernard Laporte
Against a backdrop of strong tensions between the Rugby League and the Federation, the affair had spoiled the start of the mandate of Bernard Laporte, elected on December 3, 2016. It now risks hindering the home stretch of his campaign with the clubs, responsible to decide between him against his main opponent, Florian Grill.
Monday, Laporte’s lawyer, Me Jean-Pierre Versini-Campinchi, denounced the “Timing” of this summons, a “Judicial interference” in the electoral process according to him.
In an interview with Parisian, Bernard Laporte had assured that by calling Mr. Simonet, he had simply wished him “To give political light” on the tensions in rugby and that the situation had to be appeased within professional rugby. Jean-Daniel Simonet, he assured the inspectors of the sports ministry that his commission was only at the stage of a ” hypothesis “ decision on the 29th, according to him too severe.
Questioned by the court during a defamation lawsuit lost by the boss of the FFR against The team, on May 9, 2019, Philippe Peyramaure, one of the members of the appeal commission, gave much less consensual testimony.
According to him, Mr. Simonet had called him on the morning of June 30 to tell him about the phone call from a Bernard Laporte ” not happy “, who him “Said, rather brutally, that Altrad was an important sponsor of the France team [premier sponsor maillot], an important support for the candidacy ” victorious for France in the organization of the World-2023 “And that these sanctions should be removed”. “It is the best interests of rugby”, would have added Jean-Daniel Simonet, according to this version.
