South African player asks French President for citizenship
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: There was a unique request from one of the players at Saturday’s Top 14 Final between Toulouse and Clermont in Paris.
The request happened during the presentation of the teams to French President Emmanuel Macron before the match kicked off.
While shaking hands with the Toulouse players, Macron was stopped by South African player Maks van Dyk who asked: “Can I have French nationality please?”
And a smiling Macron replied: “Well, let’s start the procedure.”
😂😂😂 Pour une fois d’accord avec #Macron… et ils ont bien répété!
– “Je peux avoir la nationalité française, s’il vous plaît ?”, a lancé le rugbyman sud-africain Maks Van Dyk à Emmanuel Macron, lors de la finale du Top 14!
– “Banco, très bien. On lance la procédure….” pic.twitter.com/rhvqAmmlEU— Bαttine (@Girolata20) June 16, 2019
It was a light-hearted moment, but that did not stop one of Van Dyk’s teammates taking it a bit further by posting a photo of Van Dyk holding what looks like an important document.
Il l’a eu, merci pour lui. @EmmanuelMacron @maksvandyk 🇫🇷 @StadeToulousain pic.twitter.com/8edd0Ruq9H
— Romain Ntamack (@RomainNtamack) June 16, 2019
Some fans took Romain Ntamack seriously, but Van Dyk later confirmed that the photo his teammate tweeted was a joke.
“It’s just a joke but I really hope to be French soon,” said Van Dyk
C’est juste un blague mais j’espère vraiment être français bientôt 🇨🇵 https://t.co/cOwtrdqWmT
— maksvandyk (@maksvandyk) June 16, 2019
Van Dyk, who was born in Johannesburg, represented the Cheetahs, Griquas and Leinster before making the move to Toulouse in 2016.
Toulouse won Saturday’s Top 14 Final against Clermont 24-18.
Additional Source: lequipe.fr
