Howas condemned: Udea-Castera hails ‘hardness’ of rugby response

Sports Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castera this Wednesday welcomed the “firmness” of the French Rugby Federation’s (FFR) response that Tuesday’s sentencing of Mohamed Howas to one year in prison in Montpellier for domestic violence was “inconsistent” with the values ​​of the national team France.

Asked about France 2, she praised both the “firmness” and the “kind words” of the FFR, who found it “unacceptable” and “inconsistent with the representation of our country at the international level” to condemn the player, as well as the reaction of the Clermont club, which terminated the contract of a player who was supposed to join him in July.

“Under these circumstances, he cannot fly the flag,” the minister said. “Coach Fabienne Galtier will have to make a final statement on this issue,” she said.

Should he be ‘permanently’ excluded from France? “Definitely not, he will serve his sentence, and the rest must be thought about.” It is “a tragedy for this family and a huge mess,” she also reacted by saying her “thoughts on his wife and their two children.”

“To be a member of the French national team implies an impeccable respect for values ​​such as respect and honesty. Resilience is our duty in these circumstances,” said Serge Simon, FFR vice president in charge of French teams, on Tuesday evening, quoted in a press release where the body expressed “its dismay”.

The FFR, for its part, has been in turmoil in recent months over the resignation in January of its president, Bernard Laporte, following his two-year suspended sentence for corruption. Elections are currently underway and the name of the new boss of French rugby will be announced on June 14th.