First failure for Panini. While the Italian publishing company of albums and vignettes markets for the first time a notebook dedicated to the XV of France, on the occasion of the next World Cup organized in France, many errors have nested in the pages .
The shells were noted by Internet users, sometimes amused, sometimes annoyed by these faults. “Well done, Panini! At the top”, quipped, on Twitter, the buyer of an album in which the Blues opener is called “Romaine” Ntamack, and not Romain. “It’s with a Southern accent,” joked other users under his post.
The error, corrected from the printing of the second edition of the album is, in this case, rather good child. But another disturbs buyers a little more: the full-page presence of Mohamed Haouas, pillar of Biarritz (Pro D2), recently sentenced by the courts.
Mohamed Haouas condemned too late for Panini to modify
Sentenced to one year in prison, convertible at the end of last May, for domestic violence. The rugby player had also received an 18-month suspended prison sentence in February 2022 for acts of burglary of tobacco shops dating back to 2014. Mohamed Haouas was also sentenced to another 18 months in prison, including nine firm , for aggravated violence (he appealed). The former Montpellier player was therefore dismissed from the XV of France because of his legal problems. But in the album, a page and three stickers are still dedicated to him.
The most recent conviction for domestic violence was pronounced too late compared to the publication of the Panini album, which devotes 116 vignettes to the French rugby teams. “All data relating to the collection, including the choice of staff, was stopped on May 1, 2023, and the production of the album began on May 17”, explains the publishing company. “When on May 30, Mr. Haouas was placed in police custody, all the albums and stickers were already printed. It was then impossible for us to modify the content of the collection. »
“We knew it would happen”
A media outcry that Panini had seen coming. “We knew it would happen,” says an employee of the publishing company. But that’s not all. In the album, Damian Penaud also had the right to his little shell. The Bordeaux-Bègles winger is presented as a player from… Stade Toulousain.
The Blues will face Scotland in Edinburgh, in a warm-up match this Saturday August 5th. They will then be busy throughout the month of August, between matches and training courses, until the announcement of the group of 33 players selected by Fabien Galthié for the World Cup. For French players, the competition will begin with a clash against New Zealand on September 8.
