Bastien Chalureau, the Montpellier second line who received a six-month prison sentence with performance suspended, replaced Paul Willemse on the list and caused controversy in his country.
Just four days after the start of the Rugby World Cup 2023where The Cougars they will seek to make history, Hosts France were mired in controversy after calling out a player who had been sentenced to prison for racism.
Due to Paul Willemse’s serious injury, coach Fabien Galthié decided to replace him with Bastien Chalureau and the decision did not take long to generate an explosion in the country. This is what Montpellier’s second line carries a sentence of six months’ imprisonment by the Correctional Court of Toulouse, suspendedneither “violent act with incident the latter committed because of the victim’s race or ethnicity.”
The event took place in January 2020, when the 31-year-old player was working at Stade Toulousain. At the time, two former rugby players accused him “attacking them with a pineapple in a parking lot after launching racist insults”.
A few days after the massive rejection broke out in France, Chalureau himself came out to defend himself in front of the microphones and broke down: “I made the decision to come to you to clarify the situation. There has been a controversy surrounding me, for several years now, and I have vehemently denied the accusations from day one. I tell them that I have confessed my mistakes, I have paid my debts and I reject any racist comments. I’m not racist and I’m not part of those values”.
Also, the second line acknowledged that the coaching staff was aware of his case from the start: “This procedure is outdated. I wanted to come before you to address my colleagues, my family, because it doesn’t just affect me, it affects my family. That’s why I want to clarify the situation. I’m not racist. Rugby is a very unifying sport. At rugby level, I have to prove myself in Montpellier to get my place. There was a controversy around my name, but then within the group it didn’t affect anyone”.
Source: Tycsports
I am Robert Harris and I specialize in news media. My experience has been focused on sports journalism, particularly within the Rugby sector. I have written for various news websites in the past and currently work as an author for Athletistic, covering all things related to Rugby news.
