PARIS (AP) — French rugby union president Bernard Laporte has resigned after being convicted in a corruption case last month, France’s sports minister said Friday.
In December, a Paris court found Laporte guilty of passive corruption, influence peddling, illegal taking of interest and misuse of corporate assets.
His resignation came a day after French rugby clubs voted against accepting Patrick Buisson as interim president. Buisson was nominated by the suspended Laporte to replace him on an interim basis while he fought his two-year suspended sentence on corruption charges.
About 90% of the clubs took part in the electronic vote on Thursday, which went against Buisson 51% to 49%.
L’Equipe newspaper first reported that Laporte submitted his resignation during a meeting of the federation’s executive committee with French sports minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra on Friday morning.
The minister welcomed Laporte’s decision, which she described as “necessary” after the clubs voted.
“Bernard Laporte has drawn conclusions, which is good for French rugby, for its values and for the future,” Oudéa-Castéra was quoted as saying by French media after the meeting.
He then recommended that the entire executive committee resign in order to call a new general election.
Laporte was the France coach from 1999 to 2007 and coached southern club Toulon from 2011 to 2016.
In another case, he was detained for questioning on Tuesday when France’s national prosecutor’s office that focuses on financial crimes, police questioned him on suspicion of tax-related irregularities.
Laporte nominated Buisson as interim president after he was sentenced by the court.
Laporte, who has also suspended himself as World Rugby vice-chairman, could have stayed on as chairman until his court appeal is finalized. But his legal concerns have clouded preparations for the World Cup, which begins in France in September.
Another senior official, former Rugby World Cup 2023 chief executive Claude Atcher, was sacked last year following an investigation by French labor inspectors into his workplace conduct.
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