The Medhi Narjissi affair continues. The French Rugby Federation was indicted on Friday for manslaughter after the disappearance at sea of the player, in 2024, during an internship with the French under-18 team.
“The French Rugby Federation (FFR) appeared and answered all the investigating magistrate’s questions. At the end of its hearing, which lasted four hours, the French rugby federation association was indicted,” explains Olivier Naboulet, public prosecutor in Agen, in a press release.
The president of the FFR Florian Grill, summoned to the Agen court, left without making a statement, through a back door. “We take note of the decision to indict the FFR as a legal entity. This is an intermediate step in the procedure which in no way constitutes a declaration of guilt,” reacted Me Mathias Chichportich in a statement sent to AFP, deeming the decision “questionable in law”.
An insufficiently prepared stay?
Medhi Narjissi (17 years old) was swept away by the waves on August 7, 2024 during a training course for the France U18 team in South Africa, during a recovery session organized on a beach known to be dangerous near the Cape of Good Hope. His body has not been found.
An administrative investigation carried out by the General Inspectorate of Education, Sport and Research (IGESR) notably mentioned a “failing preparation for the stay” of the FFR and the “insufficiently formalized missions” of the various U18 supervisors. “The decision to have organized a recovery bath in a place dangerous for swimming is a serious mistake but it is in no way attributable to the Federation. It is all the more incomprehensible as it was neither planned, nor authorized, nor validated,” argued Me Chichportich, estimating that “the criminal liability of the FFR cannot be engaged”.
The family of Medhi Narjissi said they expected a lot from the hearing of the president of the federation, whom those close to the young player accuse of having “seriously malfunctioned”.
Leave a Reply