Six Nations: French sports minister threatens France withdrawal over Covid-19 outbreak
France's scheduled Six Nations game with Scotland on Sunday has already been postponed; Roxana Maracineanu: "If we don't look into this chain of contaminations ... then the authorisation that has been given (to play in the Six Nations) can be withdrawn"
By Reuters
Last Updated: 28/02/21 3:34pm
Sports minister Roxana Maracineanu has threatened to withdraw France's authorisation to play in the Six Nations if the French Rugby Federation (FFR) does not properly investigate the origin of a Covid-19 outbreak.
France's game against Scotland was postponed after 11 French players, as well as staff, including head coach Fabien Galthie, tested positive for Covid-19 in the last week, prompting Maracineanu to ask for an investigation.
FFR president Bernard Laporte said that "to my knowledge, nobody's at fault", but Maracineanu appeared to disagree.
"We asked an investigation from the FFR and from (president) Bernard Laporte, who himself came to see us before the tournament to present us the protocol and tell us that everything was going to go well, that the bubble was going to be strictly respected with controlled entries and exits," Maracineanu told L'Equipe TV.
"Now that we can see that this is not the case, I am waiting for him to come and explain to us what has happened.
"If nothing happens, if we don't look into this chain of contaminations and they don't explain to us how it could happen, then the authorisation that has been given (to play in the Six Nations) can be withdrawn."
However, French rugby federation board of directors member Florian Grill on Sunday called for an independent investigation into the outbreak, saying an internal investigation is not enough.
"The governance of French rugby had signed a protocol with the government, which is no small responsibility. We need to get to the truth of this, we need precision and transparency," Grill, who was beaten by Laporte in the federation elections last year, told French radio Europe 1.
"The emergency is to conduct an independent investigation, not an internal investigation.
"Everyone will understand that we cannot ask the people we suspect to do the investigation themselves."
France were scheduled to play against Scotland at the Stade de France on Sunday but the Six Nations announced on Thursday the match was postponed as it looks for another date.
Last month, France banned travel from and to non-European Union countries, but the sports ministry gave the rugby team a special authorisation to take part in the Six Nations.
France, who won their first two games, are set to travel to England on March 10.
"I don't think it was written in the protocol that the players could go out to eat waffles," added Maracineanu, following reports that French players went out in Rome when they played Italy three weeks ago.
"If they went out to eat waffles, they had to be re-tested when they re-entered the bubble. We want to know if this has been done because it is the conditions of re-entering and exiting the bubble that make it a bubble, by definition."
