FIGARO INFORMATION – The ethics committee of the FFR having failed on Thursday the candidacy of Serge Simon, the president of the Federation will formalize this Friday the name of the one who will exercise his functions during his withdrawal. Provided that the amateur clubs validate this choice at the end of January.
His name circulated regularly. A man in the shadows, appreciated by amateur rugby for which he is responsible as vice-president of the FFR (since October 2020), Patrick Buisson seemed the ideal candidate to stand during the vote organized between January 23 and 25. . And then, as Midi Olympique revealed, Serge Simon’s rating had skyrocketed in the last days of December.
We can indeed confirm that the right arm of Bernard Laporte has offered to serve as Deputy Chairman. According to our information, this application was submitted to the ethics committee on Thursday afternoon. Which gave a divergent opinion at the end of the evening, insisting that a foreign elected official be chosen for the Laporte-Altrad trial, which had resulted in the conviction at first instance of two years in prison suspended for corruption of the president of the FFR. A sentence accompanied by the prohibition to exercise his activity as a manager.
On the other hand, the criminal court had requested the release of the charge of “illegal taking of interests” concerning Serge Simon, but the National Financial Prosecutor’s Office has since appealed.
Bernard Laporte will nominate Patrick Buisson for the federal office this Friday
Serge Simon and Bernard Laporte have respected the opinion of the ethics committee and, this Friday, Patrick Buisson will be presented to the federal office of the FFR as the nominated candidate for the post of deputy president. The approximately 1,900 clubs will therefore be called upon to vote “for” or “against” this former leader of the Provence committee, 65 years old.
The opposition to Bernard Laporte, led by the president of the Ile-de-France league Florian Grill, has already called on the clubs to vote “nonregardless of the name of the candidate.
As a reminder, Bernard Laporte refuses to resign but agreed, under joint pressure from the Minister of Sports, to step back and give in “all of its prerogativesto this deputy president until the appeal trial, which should only take place after the World Cup, in the fall of 2023.
