French rugby president Laporte resigns ahead of World Cup
PARIS (AP) — With the rugby World Cup in France looming, French rugby federation president Bernard Laporte resigned from his position Friday after he was convicted in a corruption case last month, the French sports minister said.
A Paris court in December found Laporte guilty of passive corruption, influence peddling, illegal interest taking and misuse of corporate assets.
His stepping down came a day after French rugby clubs voted against accepting Patrick Buisson as interim president. Buisson was nominated by the suspended Laporte to replace him on an interim basis while he fought his suspended two-year sentence on corruption charges.
About 90% of clubs participated in Thursday’s electronic vote, which went against Buisson by 51% to 49%.
L’Equipe newspaper first reported that Laporte submitted his resignation during an executive committee meeting of the federation with French sports minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra on Friday morning.
The sports ministry told The Associated Press that Oudéa-Castéra was informed of Laporte’s resignation upon her arrival at the meeting. The federation did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Oudéa-Castéra welcomed Laporte’s decision, which she said was “necessary” following the vote of the clubs.
“Bernard Laporte has drawn conclusions, which is a good thing for French rugby, for its values and for the future,” Oudéa-Castéra was quoted as saying by French media after the meeting.
She then recommended that the entire executive committee resign in order to hold new general elections.
Laporte was France coach from 1999-2007 and coached southern club Toulon from 2011-16.
In a separate case, he was detained for questioning on Tuesday as France’s national prosecution office that focuses on financial crimes police questioned him for suspected tax-related wrongdoing.
Laporte nominated Buisson as interim president after he was sentenced by the court.
Laporte, who has also self-suspended as World Rugby vice-chairman, could have remained president until his judicial appeal is finished. But his judicial worries have tarnished the preparations for the World Cup, which will kick off in France in September.
Another top official, former 2023 Rugby World Cup chief executive Claude Atcher, was fired last year following an investigation by French labor inspectors into his workplace conduct.
Laporte was sentenced in a case that involved Mohed Altrad, the owner and president of Montpellier rugby club. In 2017, Laporte was the subject of an investigation into an alleged conflict of interests and denied accusations that he pressured the French federation’s appeals board to reduce sanctions against Top 14 club Montpellier.
Following a three-month investigation, the French sports ministry said Laporte contacted the appeal commission’s president and stressed that the phone call resulted in commission members changing their decision. That meant Montpellier’s fine of 70,000 euros ($76,000) was reduced to 20,000 euros ($21,800) and a one-game stadium ban was canceled after Laporte’s intercession.
Altrad, a Syrian-born French billionaire and a close friend of Laporte, sealed a partnership with the French federation to become the first shirt sponsor of the Tricolors in 2018. The federation said at the time its ethical committee judged that the sponsorship deal did not cause a conflict of interest. The Altrad group was the sole bidder.
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