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About ten days before the election for president of the FFR, candidate Didier Codorniou spoke about the Jegou-Auradou affair and a possible additional sanction for the two players of the XV of France.
Didier Codorniou, candidate for the presidency of the French rugby federation against the outgoing Florian Grill, told AFP on Wednesday that he wanted the federation to “sanction” the two players Hugo Auradou and Oscar Jegou, charged with rape in Argentina. “There were two players who wore the jersey of the French team and who came home drunk at five in the morning. They must be sanctioned, even if the punishment must be gradual” and this, whatever the legal outcome of the case, Codorniou said during an interview with AFP.
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Hugo Auradou’s return to the field with his Pau club on October 5 shows, according to him, that “the Federation is not up to the task”. Oscar Jegou has resumed training with his La Rochelle club, but no date for returning to competition has been mentioned. “I explained myself with the two presidents of Pau and La Rochelle to tell them that I totally disagree with an immediate resumption, and I would have liked the Federation to be able to sanction as it should,” assured Mr. Codorniou . Without commenting on the legal aspect, Florian Grill for his part admitted not to have sanctioned the players for their night out, in the absence of precise rules for the tours of the XV of France. “The framework was not clear and a form of flexible framework was even admitted,” he told AFP on Monday.
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“The French team’s brand has been tainted…”
He promised to “set a clear framework” between now and the next tour in November, “which will then allow sanctions to be imposed. And we will not have a shaking hand” warned Mr. Grill. The boss of French rugby also affirmed that a return of the two players to the French XV was not possible as long as legal proceedings were underway. The Mendoza public prosecutor’s office, where the investigation into aggravated rape in Argentina is being carried out, has requested a dismissal of the case which will be studied at a hearing set for October 18.
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During the same tour, Melvyn Jaminet, author of racist comments broadcast in a video on his social networks, was sanctioned with a 34-week suspension by the FFR in the name of “undermining the best interests of rugby”. The sanction relates only to his comments and not for participation in the evening. “The brand of the French team was tainted throughout this summer”, notably by the Auradou-Jegou affair, said Mr. Codorniou. The election for president of the FFR is scheduled for October 19.
