“I called Mohamed Haouas when he came out of prison. I listened to him then I told him that he would not be selected for the World Cup. He replied that he understood and that he apologized to the players and the staff. Fabien Galthié, the coach of the Blues, who had organized a press conference this Wednesday noon in Marcoussis (Essonne) to discuss the first three-day training course bringing together 27 players not concerned by the semi-finals of the Top 14 with a view to preparation for the World Cup in France (September 8 – October 28), did not wish to say much more.
The 29-year-old right-hand pillar, sentenced on Tuesday May 30 to one year in prison, without a warrant, for acts of domestic violence, captured by a surveillance camera in a shopping center in Montpellier, will not be part of the list, on June 21, of the 42 Tricolores called up for the preparation of the competition, as the press release from the French Federation had suggested as soon as the verdict was announced, judging his behavior “inadmissible and incompatible with the representation of our nation at an international level “.
“It’s not good news for him or for us”
The Clermont club, which the player was to join on July 1 for three seasons, also indicated immediately that Mohamed Haouas would not wear his jersey.
Fabien Galthié clarified that he was not planning any further. “He will not make the World Cup,” he said. I did not survey my players (the leaders of the XV of France) but I spoke a lot with them. I can only say that this is not good news for him or for us. “Until then, the coach had supported Mohamed Haouas (16 selections), guilty of deviations in his youth spent in a difficult district of Montpellier. He had already been sentenced in February 2022 to 18 months in prison, suspended, for burglaries of tobacco shops in Montpellier, in 2014.
And on May 12, during a second trial, for his participation in a violent fight on January 1, 2014, the prosecution had requested a two-year suspended sentence. The deliberation in this case is expected on June 30. Galthié had also maintained it despite sometimes violent behavior on the ground. Excluded against Scotland in February, during the Six Nations Tournament for a clearance at head height, after a first red card received against this same team in 2020 for a punch. “I only want to encourage him, to protect him,” said the coach during the last tournament.
