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Laporte, Altrad released from police custody after 2 days of questioning
By Online Editors
Bernard Laporte, Mohed Altrad and three other people taken into police custody on Tuesday morning in France were released on Wednesday night after two days of questioning by the fraud squad.
Laporte, the president of the French Federation of Rugby and World Rugby vice-chairman, is suspected of using his influence to secure Montpellier, the club owned by Altrad, a more favourable outcome when they faced sanctions in 2017.
The French rugby boss has always defended himself from any intervention in favour of Montpellier, even if he admitted to having telephoned the chairman of the commission, Jean-Daniel Simonet.
Ministry of Sports investigators have also established in a report sent to justice that the decisions of the commission were allegedly modified between June 29 and 30, 2017. Initially, the appeal commission would have decided to confirm the sanctions announced by the League (LNR), a €70,000 fine and a closed-door match, before moving to a €20,000 fine and a stay of execution on the closed-door match.
Altrad, the Montpellier owner who is now also jersey sponsor of the France national team, was taken into custody along with the general manager of the World Cup 2023, Claude Atcher, and two senior officials of the French Federation, vice-president Serge Simon and its international relations manager Nicolas Hourquet.
According to rugbyrama.fr, it is now up to the National Financial Prosecutor's Office (PNF) to decide on the follow-up in an investigation opened in France in 2017 to examine in particular the links between Laporte and Altrad.
The PNF can decide to continue its preliminary investigation, to open a judicial investigation entrusted to investigating judges or to put an end to the investigations. "The investigation is nearing completion, no decision has been taken at this stage," said the PNF on Wednesday evening.
The situation threatens to derail the FFR re-election campaign of Laporte, the 56-year-old who is going to the polls on the first weekend of October in his bid to retain the presidency in a battle with Florian Grill.
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Latest Comments
It is if he thinks he’s got hold of the ball and there is at least one other player between him and the ball carrier, which is why he has to reach around and over their heads. Not a deliberate action for me.
Go to commentsI understand, but England 30 years ago were a set piece focused kick heavy team not big on using backs.
Same as now.
South African sides from any period will have a big bunch of forwards smashing it up and a first five booting everything in their own half.
NZ until recently rarely if ever scrummed for penalties; the scrum is to attack from, broken play, not structured is what we’re after.
Same as now.
These are ways of playing very ingrained into the culture.
If you were in an English club team and were off to Fiji for a game against a club team you’d never heard of and had no footage of, how would you prepare?
For a forward dominated grind or would you assume they will throw the ball about because they are Fijian?
A Fiji way. An English way.
An Australian way depends on who you’ve scraped together that hasn’t been picked off by AFL or NRL, and that changes from generation to generation a lot of the time.
Actually, maybe that is their style. In fact, yes they have a style.
Nevermind. Fuggit I’ve typed it all out now.
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