Mathieu Bastareaud is set to be banned from representing
France for up to three years – ruling him out of the 2011
Rugby World Cup – according to reports in the French media.
Francois Alguacil,
president of the Federation Francaise de Rugby (FFR)
disciplinary committee, told Le Parisien newspaper
that the Stade Francais centre could expect the lengthy ban
after his lies caused an international incident during
France’s summer tour in New Zealand.
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Bastareaud, 21,
falsely claimed he had been mugged by
a group of up to five men after returning to his
Wellington hotel in the early morning following France’s
second Test against the All Blacks – which they lost 14-10.
The 20-year-old blamed
an eye injury on the attack, prompting a high profile police
investigation and a public apology from New Zealand Prime
Minister John Key. But the players’ allegations were exposed
as completely false when CCTV footage showed him entering
the hotel uninjured.
Bastareaud subsequently
retracted the claim when confronted with the footage by the
police – saying instead that he had cut his face after
falling down drunk in his room - although by that time he
was already back in France. The ensuing media storm forced
the highly rated centre underground, even pushing him to an
attempted suicide bid which resulted in a short spell at an
unnamed psychiatric ward.
He only returned to
training with Stade Francais last week, but now looks set to
be banned from playing for ‘Les Bleus’ for up to 36 months
when the FFR concludes its investigation next month.
“I think he will be
banned from the squad for between one and three years,” said
Alguacil. “This was offensive to the French team, but also
to the governments of New Zealand and France,” he added.
Indeed, French Prime Minister Francois Fillon was moved to
write a letter of apology to his Kiwi counterpart after the
sorry mess unraveled, admitting that Bastareaud’s behaviour
had been “unacceptable”.
He added: “By his false
statements, on which basis you had to intervene publicly, he
has seriously tainted the image of your country and its
people.”
One of New Zealand’s
main concerns at the time had been the negative publicity it
received as part of the build up to it hosting the 2011
World Cup. Now, it seems, Bastareaud – one of France’s
emerging stars – may not even be eligible to take part in
the tournament.
Bastareaud, the cousin
of France and Arsenal footballer William Gallas, has kept a
low profile since the incident but took his first steps to a
playing return when he represented Stade Francais in a beach
rugby tournament last weekend.
According to Alguacil
the player will still be allowed to play club rugby while
his international ban is served out. He also confirmed that
no other member of the French squad - playrs or management -
would face disciplinary action over the incident.
