This seemed inevitable, given the situation and the issues. Finally, the meeting between Biarritz Olympique and Oyonnax scheduled for Thursday (9 p.m.), which should open the Pro D2 championship, will indeed take place. A time, a sword of Damocles hung over this game. And for good reason: the French Rugby Federation is claiming 115,000 euros from the BO Rugby Association. A sum that the structure chaired by David Couzinet refuses to pay, believing that the SASP, the professional sector, managed by Jean-Baptiste Aldigé, owes him 316,000 euros in arrears since 2019*.
Faced with the threat, the FFR decided to act and will issue the licenses to the BOPB, “exceptionally”. Information from Figaro that France Bleu Pays Basque is able to confirm to you. The formalization will be made this Tuesday, August 23. But, Fédé like the National Rugby League ask the two sectors of Biarritz rugby to meet in September in order to solve the problems once and for all.
It would still be necessary for the two parties to be ready to sit around the table. And for Jean-Baptiste Aldigé, the general assembly organized on July 19 (the third since April), which appointed Guillaume Raoulx president of the BOR (Biarritz Olympique Rugby) confirms in fact the ousting of David Couzinet and the other Galacticos ( Yachvili, Thion, Harinordoquy) at the head of the amateur. An act brought to the prefecture and which certifies that for state files, Guillaume Raoulx is president, while for justice, it is the former second line. Jean-Baptiste Aldigé therefore wrote to Guillaume Raoulx to indicate to him that he was ready to meet him in order to “sale the ghosts of the past”.
The latter who still claims to be president of the association. Justice had been seized to protest against the holding and the result of these general meetings. The first decision will be made this Thursday August 25, the day of the match against Oyonnax, concerning the very first AG, of April 4. But it will only be the beginning of a long legal marathon, which can be counted in months.
*What the SASP refutes, arguing that certain expenses of the Association are not covered by the agreement between the two entities, such as a donation of 25,000 euros for equipment in Fiji. Or again, the use of the exceptional subsidy of 350,000 euros voted in October by the town hall for the training center in order to pay legal and legal fees.