Bernard Laporte resigns from FFR president role after corruption conviction

The French Rugby Federation has confirmed that Bernard Laporte has resigned from his role as president of the board.

The news follows after he was found guilty in a trial over influence peddling favouring the national shirt sponsorship to the name of Montpellier owner Mohed Altrad.

He was handed a two-year suspended prison sentence and fined €75,000 by a court in Paris against which he has appealed.

“I can confirm Bernard Laporte’s resignation. I welcome this decision… which is a good thing for French rugby, for its values and for the future,” sports minister Amelie Oudéa-Castéra told reporters.

The organising committee has already been embroiled in a number of scandals, including former chief executive Claude Atcher, who was sacked for overseeing an alleged “climate of terror”

With the Rugby World Cup scheduled few months away, French clubs decided not to appoint Patrick Buisson as interim president with 51% voting against him. The board's treasurer Alexandre Martinez is favourite to replace Laporte.