French clubs plan European Cup boycott
French clubs plan Euro boycott
From correspondents in Paris, c/o Foxsports
January 17, 2007
FRANCE'S leading teams delivered a potentially fatal blow to the European Cup by insisting they would boycott the 2007-08 edition of the continent's leading club rugby union competition in protest at its impact on their domestic season.
France's League Nationale de Rugby (LNR), the umbrella organisation representing the clubs that compete in the country's Top 14 French Championship, said in a statement: "Due to the gravity and urgency of the situation, the LNR has consulted with all the presidents of the Top 14 clubs.
"They have all unanimously indicated the conditions do not exist for the LNR to sign the new agreement governing the European Cup (due to take effect in 2009) and, because of this, French clubs will not be participating in next season's tournament."
The LNR announcement comes after months of negotiation failed to find a solution to the problem of fixture congestion which threatens to become acute in the next northern season.
France, in September and October, will host the Rugby World Cup. This has delayed the start of the French season, making it difficult for championship matches to be played alongside European competitions in a shortened campaign.
Although Top 14 fixtures could take place during the World Cup itself, the LNR believes that would be economically disastrous for its members because of the huge decrease in television and sponsorship revenues.
This is a particular issue for France's elite clubs and their equivalents in the English Premiership.
They are stand-alone businesses, unlike the leading sides in Six Nations rivals Ireland, Scotland and Wales where there is a much closer financial and working relationship between the national union and their country's top teams.
LNR president Serge Blanco, the legendary former France full back, insisted the issue of fixture congestion had left his organisation with no choice but to take drastic action.
"We are convinced that if we did not do this our domestic championship will be dead in 2009," Blanco said the British tabloid the Daily Mail.
And he insisted this was not a French problem alone. "Next season in England 10 of the 22 rounds in the Premiership will be played during international weekends, which is ridiculous. Our championships are losing their value."
There has been a question mark over the European Cup's future in recent weeks with Premiership clubs in conflict with the Rugby Football Union (RFU), England's national governing body, over the amount of control they have in the running and organisation of European competitions.
Last week, rugby chiefs agreed on a new set of rules and regulations for the European Cup following a meeting in Dublin but French clubs refused to take part claiming English teams were stalling the process.
Blanco reportedly alleged the RFU had gone back on an agreement to split equally its shareholding in European Rugby Cup Limited (ERC), the European Cup organisers, with the Premiership clubs - as is the case with the French federation and its teams - and that this was a factor in the Top 14 boycott.
"The RFU changed their mind. Had they not done so, we would have signed the new agreement for the future of the Heineken (European) Cup. But now there is too much uncertainty about the future of the English clubs."
Agence France-Presse
France boycott 'England's fault'
France boycott 'England's fault'
From correspondents in Paris
January 18, 2007
ENGLAND rugby is to blame for France clubs boycotting next season's European Cup, according to France's National Rugby League (LNR) president, Serge Blanco.
Blanco has decided to pull France's top clubs out of the continent's top club competition to protect his country's domestic game.
Speaking in France sports newspaper l'Equipe, Blanco insisted fixture congestion was not the deciding factor, as many had believed.
"No, above all it's the fault of the English Rugby federation (RFU)," said Blanco.
At present the European Cup is run by the national federations of the participating European rugby nations. But top clubs, who run their own domestic leagues such as the French Top 14 and the English Premiership, want more of a say in the competition.
Recently they have been trying to renegotiate the Paris Accord - statutes and regulations that govern the European Cup - but, according to Blanco, the English RFU refused to hand over any share of it's control to English clubs.
"If the RFU, which to begin with had agreed, like the FFR (French Rugby Federation), to give up 50 per cent of it's part (of control) to its clubs, we would have committed regardless of the difficulties it would have presented to our calender," said Blanco.
"But their refusal threw everything up in the air."
The problem is more wide-ranging than simply a dispute between clubs and their federations, with fixture congestion and television revenues major issues. Most important is the club versus country dispute. Already clubs lose their top players several times a year to the national set-ups for international matches.
Blanco believes that, much like football in Europe, it is the domestic leagues which are paramount to the growth and success of the sport on a global scale.
And he is wary of the International Rugby Board's (IRB) reported plans to introduce a World Cup every two years, rather than four.
"They (the IRB) are going to dry up the source. Rugby cannot continue to survive if the economic forces representing English and French clubs is diminished," he said.
"Sometimes we complain about the number of foreign players (in our leagues) but it is our championships that allow the teams such as Argentina and Italy to have competitive players and for Samoa, Tonga, Fiji and Romania to even exist. (And your championships that stop them from growing past mere existence)
"I don't think rugby can develop if it adopts a comparable model to volleyball with multiple international tournaments."
It is not yet clear what impact France's boycott of next year's competition will have.
English clubs boycotted the tournament in 1998-99 but returned a year later, although they, too, have threatened to boycott next season's competition.
September and October's World Cup also has a large part to play in the France clubs' decision, as it impinges on the domestic calender, meaning the season must either be delayed, creating later fixture congestion, or start during the World Cup.
That would deprive teams of their best players, something Blanco believes will seriously damage the Top 14 competition.
Although the boycott will hit France clubs financially - France Television pays 12.5 million euros ($20.5 million) a year for European Cup rights for the European Cup - Blanco is sure it is the right move for his clubs.
"I am convinced that if we didn't do this, our system would become more difficult to defend and we would be dead after 2009," he said.
Most teams have rallied behind the LNR president but not everyone is convinced by Blanco's stance.
"Serge Blanco's decision was made to provoke a reaction," said Narbonne general manager Samuel Gauthier.
"Announcing that we will not play in the European Cup next season is a form of negotiation."
The LNR's decision has caused anger, with many afraid it will hurt the competition.
"As soon as everybody was on board, the tournament snowballed into the massive competition it is now," said Northampton head coach Paul Grayson.
"It is the biggest competition there is and to have one nation withdraw would completely devalue it."
FFR boss Bernard Lapasset is also against a boycott.
"I understand the reasons, even if I don't agree with the method," he said.
Meanwhile, the ERC released a statement saying that the Paris Accord, which runs out at the end of the season, is still under review and a meeting will be held next month to discuss further changes.
Reuters
