He said it was his “last option”. The Fijian international of the French Stade Waisea Nayacalevu will finally be vaccinated against Covid-19, assured the general manager of his club, Thomas Lombard, to AFP, Monday January 17, the day after the adoption of the vaccine pass .
Discussions had been ongoing for several weeks between the player and his management. “Waisea contracted the virus a few weeks ago (…) But, when he gets out of his immunity, he will get vaccinated. We talked about it with him”, confirmed Lombard.
Around 98% of Top 14 players are vaccinated. Nayacalevu (31 years old, 26 selections), who contracted Covid-19 twice, had openly claimed not to want a shot.
“It’s my choice: I don’t believe in all this bullshit. Everywhere in the world, even if you are vaccinated, you can catch Covid and pass it on. So what’s the point of getting vaccinated? In my family, some are vaccinated. Others, not. Everyone has a choice”, he told AFP.
“We never asked ourselves the question of breaking his contract. We read or heard a lot of things, but we did not have clear regulations. (…) We must respect the wishes of the players … until ‘at a certain point. When you get to a blocking situation, you have to decide. But, with Waisea, we’ve never come to such a situation. He is aware of it and it was never a question for him to go to arm wrestling”, explained Thomas Lombard.
With the new law adopted by parliamentarians, French or foreign professional athletes will now have to present a vaccination certificate (or in some cases, a certificate of recovery following contamination) to enter a sports arena. This could deprive the refractory to play or train, raising fears of club sanctions against them.