New Zealand Rugby may be reconsidering their huge sponsorship deal with Altrad after French company owner Mohed Altrad was found guilty of corruption overnight.
The scandal also involves Bernard Laporte, World Rugby’s vice-president and a key member of the French Federation, and it may be about to taint the All Blacks’ brand: all of New Zealand Rugby’s top teams feature “Altrad” on the front of their jerseys.
The six-year partnership with the construction company, announced in August last year, plus the sponsorship deal with UK-based petrochemical company Ineos, is worth more than $50 million a year.
“We will be reconvening with representatives from the company immediately – as well as with our key stakeholders – so that we may consider our options to resolve the best path forward,” NZ Rugby said in a statement today.
The former NZR boss said there can be only one focus for the rugby body when discussing the sponsorship deal. (Source: 1News)
“We have been in discussions on the possibility of this outcome for some time.”
The Associated Press this morning reported that Laporte was found guilty of passive corruption, influence peddling, illegal interest taking and misuse of corporate assets by a court in Paris.
Laporte was banned from holding any position in rugby for two years but his lawyer Jean-Pierre Versini-Campinchi said he would appeal the ruling, meaning the former France coach and sports minister can keep his top job at the federation in the meantime.
A statement this morning from World Rugby said Laporte had decided to "self-suspend from all positions held within its governance structures with immediate effect".
"While acknowledging Laporte's self-suspension and right of appeal, given the serious nature of the verdict, World Rugby's executive committee has referred the matter to its independent ethics officer for review in accordance with its integrity code."
Florian Grill, who ran against Laporte for the French federation presidency two years ago, urged members of the federation's board of directors to resign collectively and called for new elections.
"This conviction is an earthquake for the French rugby world," Grill said.
Altrad, the owner and president of Montpellier rugby club, was found guilty of active corruption, influence peddling, and misuse of corporate assets, L'Equipe newspaper reported. He was handed an 18-month suspended prison sentence, as well as a €50,000 (NZ$82,000) fine, the newspaper said.
In 2017, Laporte was the subject of an investigation into alleged conflict of interests and denied accusations that he pressured the French federation's appeals board to reduce sanctions against Top 14 club Montpellier.
With Associated Press
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