For him, it’s clear. Candidate for the presidency of the French rugby federation (election scheduled for October 19) against the outgoing Florian Grill, declared this Wednesday to AFP that he would like the Federation to “sanction” the two players Hugo Auradou and Oscar Jegou, charged of aggravated rape for alleged acts in Argentina.
“There were two players who wore the French team jersey and who came home drunk at five in the morning. They must be punished, even if the sentence must be gradual, regardless of the legal outcome of the case,” Codorniou said.
Hugo Auradou’s return to the field with his Pau club on October 5 shows, according to him, that “the Federation is not up to the task”. Oscar Jegou has resumed training with his club in La Rochelle. “I explained myself with the two presidents of Pau and La Rochelle to tell them that I totally disagree with an immediate resumption, and I would have liked the Federation to be able to sanction as it should,” adds Codorniou.
Without commenting on the legal aspect, Florian Grill had, for his part, accepted the fact of not having sanctioned the players for their night out, in the absence of precise rules for the tours of the XV of France. “The framework was not clear and a form of flexible framework was even admitted,” he told AFP on Monday. He promised to “set a clear framework” between now and the next tour in November, “which will then allow sanctions to be imposed. And we won’t have a hand that shakes.”
The boss of French rugby also affirmed that a return of the two players to the French XV was not possible as long as legal proceedings were underway.
The Mendoza public prosecutor’s office, where the investigation into aggravated rape in Argentina is being carried out, has requested a dismissal of the case which will be studied at a hearing set for October 18.
