In a poll carried out by Odoxa for Winamax and RTL, this Sunday, more than two thirds of French people validate the decision of the French Rugby Federation to suspend a return to the Blues of Auradou and Jegou as long as they are indicted in the case of aggravated gang rape which broke out this summer in Argentina.
“As long as there is no official dismissal, Hugo Auradou and Oscar Jegou will not play in the French team,” said the vice-president of the FFR on Sud-Radio on October 6. A decision of non-selection validated by 68% of French people according to a survey carried out by the Odoxa institute for Winamax and RTL, this Sunday.
If the majority of French people therefore condition the return with the Blues of Auradou and Jégou, at the heart of the case of aggravated gang rape which broke out in Argentina this summer, the presence of Auradou (given a standing ovation this Sunday by his public) on the pitches of the Top 14 with his club Pau would be less problematic: 56% believe that his club was right to make him play given that he was not found guilty, even if he is still in the waiting for the end of the legal proceedings.
As a reminder, the Mendoza public prosecutor’s office (where the investigation is being carried out) had authorized, in September, Oscar Jegou and Hugo Auradou to leave Argentine territory before ruling, on October 4, for a dismissal of the case due to “doubts or lack of evidence. A decision which will be studied during a closed hearing set for October 18 by the judge in charge of the case.
An affair which has tarnished the image of sport, say rugby fans (57%)
If more than one in two French people therefore support the line of the Section Paloise which has replayed its second line in the meantime, rugby fans line up even more behind the club (at 67%), refusing to oppose the resumption of professional activity for a person engaged in legal proceedings but released.
Despite these figures (obtained from a sample of 1002 people interviewed including 407 rugby fans) which can testify to a “certain attachment to the presumption of innocence in the absence of guilt recognized by a court decision”, indicates the polling institute, this affair has significantly damaged the image of rugby in general. Proof of this shock wave is that 51% of French people believe it compared to 57% of fans of the discipline.
Overall, the French approve of the FFR’s decisions regarding this matter, including the recent establishment of a stricter framework for the French teams (7 to 9 French people out of 10 validate these various measures). Same thing for rugby fans… who, however, remain less favorable than the rest of their compatriots to a total ban on the consumption of alcohol than to the establishment of a curfew during gatherings.
