The decision was expected. It fell, this Monday morning, via a press release. And it’s a definitive “niet”! While several French internationals have recently signed up with Russian clubs – in return for very lucrative contracts – the French Federation (FFBB) has announced that the “players and staff of the French teams will no longer be selectable if they sign a contract with a Russian or Belarusian club, as long as the conflict is ongoing”.
“In addition to sanctions and measures to limit partnerships and other financial support from entities with ties to the Russian state and Belarus, the International Sports Federations, including FIBA, have decided on the exclusion of national teams , clubs and Russian athletes in international competitions”, explained the French Federation which “supports all of these measures”.
This sentence was taken on July 28 at a federal office. The FFBB also specifies that this measure “also applies to players and staff members who have already signed with a Russian or Belarusian club. »
It already concerns two French internationals: Livio Jean-Charles (4 caps), who signed up for CSKA Moscow, and Louis Labeyrie (33 caps), who signed for the Kazan club. If he was not selected for the group which is currently preparing the Euro – which is being played in Germany at the beginning of September -, Labeyrie was present at the 2019 World Cup in China and had won the bronze medal there with the Blues. The interior had also been called up for qualifying matches for the 2023 World Cup in early July.
Other internationals have been approached by Russian clubs to join their league. Among them Thomas Heurtel (84 caps), who is about to join the Saint Petersburg club. Gold medalist at the Euro in 2013, bronze at the 2014 World Cup in Spain and silver at the Tokyo Games last year, the leader is currently present in Nanterre for the preparation course for the Blues for the Euro. He will therefore have to quickly choose his future if he wants to participate in the continental competition.
These career choices will also have an impact on the presence of players at the next Olympic Games in Paris in 2024. All the delegations selected in the senior men’s and women’s French teams “are invited to sign a sworn statement to participate in international rallies and competitions, ”says the Federation press release. “Players and staff members will have to sign this certificate, indicating that they are not engaged and will not engage with a Russian or Belarusian club for the duration of the conflict with Ukraine. “In the event of a breach of this commitment, “the selection rules for the next international deadlines, including the 2024 Olympic Games”, would no longer be respected. The player would therefore be excluded.
