French rugby federation elects Florian Grill as president as it moves on from corruption case

The French rugby federation has elected Florian Grill as its president as it tries to move on from a corruption scandal involving its previous leader. The FFR said Wednesday that the 57-year-old Grill secured 58% of the votes from French rugby clubs, compared to 42% for the rival candidate Patrick Buisson. Grill replaces interim president Alexandre Martinez, who took on the role in February shortly after Bernard Laporte resigned as FFR president amid a corruption case.

Laporte was convicted of corruption and illegally acquiring assets and was handed a suspended prison sentence. Laporte had nominated Buisson for the interim role , but clubs rejected his candidacy in a narrow vote before electing Martinez instead. Grill, meanwhile, has been one of Laporte's biggest rivals for years and narrowly lost to him in the previous presidential election in 2020. A Paris court found Laporte guilty of passive corruption, influence peddling, illegal interest taking and misuse of corporate assets.

Laporte was France coach from 1999-2007, winning the Six Nations four times. Then he coached southern club Toulon from 2011-16, winning three European Cups. Last October, Claude Atcher was fired as chief executive of the Rugby World Cup that opens in France in September. Atcher’s removal followed an investigation by French labor inspectors into his workplace conduct.