Laporte’s axe falls on France’s top referee
“Their methods shock me hugely. I am very anxious because there is no more respect. It is a witch-hunt”
Didier Mene ex-referees supremo
The revolutionary coup that installed Bernard Laporte as the new boss of French rugby has left blood on the floor. Refereeeing supremo Didier Mene’s head has rolled from the guillotine along with his entire committee.
And he has not gone quietly, to say the least. He is accusing the new power duo of Laporte and his No.2 Serge Simon of being “a danger to French rugby”.
It is not the first time he has spoken accusingly about Laporte, notably after the latter incurred suspensions of 60 days and 13 weeks in recent seasons for savaging referees.
That was for ranting wildly about how “useless” referees Romain Poite and Laurent Cardona were when officiating at Toulon matches.
Laporte has long wanted to make all top refs in France professional, but Mene said at the time: “If stigmatising referees is professional, we don’t have the same vision of what that means.
“When Laporte says he has no problem with 99.9 per cent of referees, he has misplaced a decimal point. He means 9.9 per cent.”
That was before Laporte had become a candidate for the presidency of the Federation. One can only imagine the horror of Mene, an unconditional supporter of rival Pierre Camou, when the result of the election was declared.
Mene says he heard the news of his sacking from his deputy Joel Dume, a former World Cup official, whom Laporte has installed in charge of referees.
Mene responded: “They have done this without warning. Their methods shock me hugely. I am very anxious because there is no more respect. It is a witch-hunt.”
Mene is convinced that Simon, a one-time scrum pal of Laporte for Begles in the distant past and, more recently, boss of the players’ union, is a real power behind the throne.
He explained: “I should remind you that four French referees will be in the middle for the Six Nations, an historically high figure.
“I wonder if those clubs who thought they knew whom they were voting for will end up finding out that power does not belong to the one they thought.”
Significantly, Simon was the man chosen by Laporte to have discussions with France boss Guy Noves on the future of the national team.
For the moment, there is an uneasy truce. Down largely to the fact that the French public have taken to the more exciting brand of rugby the team are try to develop under Noves even though results have yet to follow.
Laporte knows that getting rid of the man he doesn’t fancy as his France team boss would be tantamount to shooting himself in the foot as well as costing the federation a fortune in compensation.
He has, though, insisted that his France team will have to start winning more consistently again. Their opening Six Nations match against England at Twickenham will be a key encounter.
Noves, in the meantime, has let it be known he would have resigned if his chat with Simon had displeased him.
He said: “The interview I had was not to say we are going to like each other, but Serge Simon, representing Bernard Laporte, is aware that the work being done is of quality and that it would have been a waste of time not to let us continue.
“He told me we would have exactly the same working conditions as we had under the former regime. I was convinced in my mind that the people at the head of the federation were not stupid.” Whatever he may think in private he is very sensibly keeping to himself.
Meanwhile, former Stade Francais and Montpellier manager Fabien Galthie, rejected three times as France boss, and coach Jacques Delmas, former Laporte assistant at Toulon, are waiting in the wings.
All is not sweetness and light either in the Top 14 at the moment where champions Racing 92 slumped more deeply into crisis with yet another European Champions Cup defeat at Glasgow.
That is infuriating for Racing owner Jacky Lorenzetti, who had made the trophy his priority with nemesis club Toulon having won it three times. Now he is having to deal with the chance of losing the player voted best in France last season, his South African attacking star Johan Goosen.
Goosen apparently asssured Racing he had given up his interna- tional career when signing a juicy contract. That was before he started to play again for his country under new management.
Now he has written to Racing to say he is retiring from rugby to take a job as commercial director of a South African company.
But reports in France suggest it is just a way for Goosen to break his contract and join Montpellier without having to pay the €1m release clause that Racing president Jacky Lorenzetti carefully included in the contract that was signed last summer.
Montpellier are believed to be offering Goosen a €1m-per-season but are not prepared to pay the clause.
It seems retirement has been suggested to Goosen by his advisors but Lorenzetti is ready to go to court should the 24-year go ahead.
He said: “Yohan Goosen whose contract was increased largely less than a year ago is claiming his freedom in an incredible manner. Racing reserve the right to treat such behaviour by him and those who advise him with the appropriate judicial measures.”