Antoine Dupont has to take care of a French media investigation days earlier than going through Wales within the Six Nations.
Antoine Dupont is in the course of severe allegations earlier than France’s conflict in opposition to Wales (Picture: Getty)
Antoine Dupont has turn into embroiled in a shock investigation merely days earlier than France’s Six Nations encounter with Wales. The French skipper made a formidable begin to the competitors, with the defending champions opening their marketing campaign with a commanding 36-14 overcome Eire final weekend.
However, the scrum-half dangers having his preparations disrupted for Sunday’s fixture on the Millennium Stadium following an investigation by French publication L’Equipe. The paper has alleged that Dupont, together with France and Toulouse colleague Anthony Jelonch, have obtained funds via bogus sponsorship offers to bypass wage cap laws within the High 14 – France’s high rugby division.
A agency referred to as 3S-Alyzia, who’re companions with Toulouse, are reported to have paid £1.5million (€1.8m) to Dupont over almost a decade and roughly £148,000 (€170,000) to Jelonch for picture rights and promoting companies which have been characterised as “nearly non-existent.”
L’Equipe are claiming that no public utilization of their picture can account for the substantial sums the gamers have obtained. The scandal raises questions on potential breaches of the High 14 wage cap, which Toulouse have violated beforehand. The membership obtained a £1.5m (€1.8m) high-quality final December for violating wage cap laws within the acquisition of Melvyn Jaminet from Perpignan in 2022. They had been additionally docked two factors within the High 14 desk.
Of their defence, legal professionals have maintained that the utilisation of picture rights and promotional companies has been performed privately, quite than publicly via posters or video content material on social media platforms. In a bid to counter the accusations, Dupont’s authorized consultant has submitted 14 paperwork purporting to reveal his work for 3S-Alyzia. The documentation contains pictures from numerous occasions together with a cross from the 2019 Paris Air Present.
But L’Equipe have maintained the images wouldn’t qualify as particular person picture utilization given they relate to the partnership between Toulouse and the sponsor. The publication additional alleges sure funds made to Dupont by Fiducial, a membership sponsor of Toulouse, wouldn’t have been included within the wage cap calculations. However the newspaper’s findings, an official inquiry into Toulouse has not but been confirmed.
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However, that would change within the coming days ought to the proof provided by L’Equipe warrant an investigation by the LNR’s wage cap supervisor. The allegations arrive at an unlucky time for Dupont, who seeks to information France to triumph in Cardiff on Sunday. Talking following the overcome Eire, the rugby famous person indicated his staff will “dream large” within the competitors.
He stated: “We’re formidable anyway. We all know how the match works and we take the video games one by one. We’re going to Cardiff, it’s all the time troublesome going to the Principality Stadium, we’ve got had some troublesome matches. We’re taking the matches one by one, and we’ve got to win the matches one after the opposite, then we’re going to dream large.”
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