After the speech of Clarisse Agbégnénou, who denounces the behavior of the French Judo Federation, its president Stéphane Nomis wants to find an agreement with the Olympic champion.
The return of Clarisse Agbégnénou is not going as planned, at least on the tatami. Currently in Tel Aviv for her first competition since her maternity, the Olympic champion of -63 kg, the French Judo Federation has decided to cut off her personalized aids, the latter being penalized for having worn a judogi from the Mizuno brand and no Adidas, the official supplier of the French team.
A decision that the 30-year-old judoka contests. “It’s unacceptable, I won’t let it go, she explains to RMC Sport. I’m not respected, it’s non-respect. Teddy Riner does what he wants, he has a kimono in which he feels at ease. It’s an important tool for winning. Me, I’m being prevented from doing so. (…) It’s my job that they are jeopardizing and I won’t let it pass. I’ll call the right people and if it has to go to court, we’ll go to court. But I won’t let it go.”
“Where I respect her”
Contacted by RMC Sport, the president of the French Judo Federation wants to “find an agreement” with Clarisse Agbégnénou. “We have to sit down, write a contract. We offered him a very honest agreement, which represents certain amounts and which corresponds to a quarter of the budget of the French women’s team. So we respect it, specifies Stéphane Nomis. She can’t say that we don’t respect her. What’s also important for us is that she’s a mom, we understand that, we accept things. We’re making progress, we’re not there to block. I told her two weeks ago, and again a week ago, that she wouldn’t wear Mizuno because it’s against Federation ethics. You can’t have a competitor of our sponsor without the approval of our sponsor, it is not possible.”
On the Tel Aviv tatami, Agbégnénou was beaten in the quarter-finals by Australia’s Haecker. She then lost in repechage to Kosovar Fazli. Since the 2011 Worlds, she has only come out of a competition without being on the podium twice (fifth at the 2017 European Championship and fifth at the Tokyo tournament in 2012).
