French Rugby boss Laporte offers to step down

NEWS: French Rugby Federation (FFR) president Bernard Laporte, facing a suspended two-year jail sentence for corruption, will offer to step down when he meets the Sports Minister this week, at least until his appeal is heard, the FFR announced Monday.

Laporte, who “remains president” of the FFR, will also nominate his temporary replacement when he meets Amelie Oudea-Castera on Thursday, said the FFR.

The federation added that Laporte, 58, had insisted he wanted to “follow ‘to the letter’ the injunction of the ethics committee of the FFR”, which on Friday demanded he quit “until a definitive sentence”.

After last Tuesday’s sentence, Oudea-Castera said it was an “obstacle for Bernard Laporte to be able, as it stands, to continue his mission in good conditions” as federation president.

Laporte, who has been in office since the end of 2016, was found guilty on December 13 of five of the six offenses for which he was prosecuted, including corruption and favouritism.

Laporte received a two-year suspended prison sentence just nine months before France host the game’s showpiece event, the World Cup.

He was also banned from holding any rugby post for two years, but this is suspended pending his appeal.

He stepped down from his role as vice-chairman of the sport’s global governing body, World Rugby, pending a review by the body’s ethics officer.