World Cup 2023: Sebastien Chabal denies any ticket sales

He claims it’s in the rules. Former France international Sébastien Chabal, suspected of ticket trafficking after buying hundreds of seats for France’s next Rugby World Cup, denied any wrongdoing at AFP on Saturday.

According to the Parisian, a former third-line representative (45 years old, 62 selections from 2000 to 2011), an ambassador for the competition, was able to buy one hundred tickets, thereby bypassing the sales rules that limit the number of seats to eight. per employee of the organizing committee.

“Yes, I took advantage of privileged access to buy more tickets than one person can do due to my status as French Ambassador in 2023,” Sébastien Chabal responded in a press release sent to AFP. In touch, the former XV France star declined to comment further.

“I’m not going to make money in these places”

“I didn’t get any freebies or discounted rates. And no, I’m not going to make money on these places, – added the ex-player of “Lyon” or Bourgoin-Jallier, rejecting any ticket trade. Obviously, these places cannot be resold by those who will benefit from them. It is equally inconceivable that they could be used for commercial transactions. »

Another former rugby player, Henri Miosch, project manager for the World Cup from 2017 to 2020, is suspected of buying around 600 tickets, the source added. “For us, given the volumes, there is no doubt that this is a ticket trade,” assures a source close to the Paris case.

These purchases were discovered during searches carried out in November, including at the headquarters of the public organization (GIP) France 2023, which is responsible for organizing the Rugby World Cup. The searches were carried out as part of an investigation launched in October by the National Fiscal Prosecutor’s Office (PNF) into favoritism, influence peddling and corruption and entrusted to the gendarmes of the Paris research department.

This investigation was launched following a joint report from the General Inspectorate for Finance and the General Inspectorate for Education regarding “contracts awarded”, “tickets” and “vehicle provision” to former GIP CEO Claude Atcher. The latter was finally fired in October due to his managerial methods being considered cruel.