France star receives massive ban for racist video

UPDATE: France’s Melvyn Jaminet has been suspended for 34 weeks from all competitions after he recorded a video in which he made racist comments, the French Rugby Federation (FFR) announced on Friday.

“After the FFR Disciplinary Board meeting held today [Friday], it was decided that Melvyn Jaminet had ‘harmed the higher interests of rugby'”, said the Federation in a statement.

The player has also received a 30,000 euros ($32,500) fine, according to the FFR.

The federation added that “eight weeks of the 34-week suspension may nevertheless be replaced by community service activities for the benefit of the FFR”, such as “prevention actions focussing on the dangers associated with alcohol and social networks”, or “actions promoting the values of sport focussing on the fight against discrimination”.

Fullback Jaminet, 25, was kicked off the squad during their tour of Argentina earlier this month for the remarks in an Instagram story that was then deleted.

“I promise, the first Arab I see on the road, I’ll headbutt him,” Jaminet is filmed as saying in the video posted after France beat Argentina in a July 6 Test match in the Latin American country.

The following day, the FFR called Jaminet’s comment’s “totally unacceptable” and said it would conduct an internal investigation as it removed him from the team.

On Tuesday, Jaminet had a meeting with the management of his club Toulon as part of a disciplinary procedure against him.

In a press release published the following day, the club announced that it would make its decision “in the next few days”.

On July 9, the Paris prosecutor’s office also opened an investigation into the incident for “death threats due to origin” following a complaint from the anti-racism SOS Racisme NGO.