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France wins bid to host Rugby World Cup in 2023

France has won the right to stage the 2023 World Cup, it was announced Wednesday, despite finishing behind rival bidders South Africa in an evaluation report.

Published: 15 November 2017 15:45 CET
France wins bid to host Rugby World Cup in 2023
Photo: AFP
The report, widely criticised by both France and Ireland, the third bidding country, was not binding on the remaining members of the World Rugby Council, who voted in London.
 
World Rugby chiefs denied they had been “humiliated” by France winning the right to stage the 2023 World Cup on Wednesday despite finishing behind South Africa.   
 
Wednesday's decision, announced by World Rugby chairman Bill Beaumont, means France will be staging a World Cup for the second time, having previously hosted the 2007 edition. The tournament also comes a year before France hosts the 2024 Olympic Games.
 
In order to be chosen, the successful bidder needed a simple majority of 20 out of the 39 remaining votes — France, Ireland and South Africa were barred from participating in the ballot.
   
The first round finished with France on 18 votes, 1995 hosts South Africa on 13 and Ireland, who've yet to be the main hosts of a World Cup, eight.
   
With Ireland dropping out, France beat South Africa by 24 votes to 15 in the second round.
 
“We've been fortunate to have three great bids,” said Beaumont after announcing Wednesday's decision.
   
“Certainly delighted for France. It will be a really exciting tournament,” the former England captain added.
   
Last month World Rugby published an evaluation report which said South Africa should be chosen given it had an overall rating of 78.97, compared with 75.88 for France and 72.25 for Ireland, across a range of criteria.
 
The report aimed to provide objective standards for a process previously dogged by allegations of backroom 'horse-trading' between countries.
   
But it immediately came under attack from both France and Ireland, who were rebuked by World Rugby chiefs, including Beaumont, as they reaffirmed their support for its findings.
   
Bernard Laporte, the president of the French Rugby Federation, was especially damning, telling AFP in an interview last month: “On security, we have the same number of points even though there are 52 murders a day in South
Africa. It's crazy.”
   
But Laporte, a former coach of the France national side and a former French government minister, was in more conciliatory mood on Wednesday, saying: “I'm proud France was chosen. We had a solid dossier like our two rivals. We will do our best.”
 
South African 'desolation'
 
South Africa Rugby chief executive Jurie Roux had warned that going against the report's outcome would “laugh in the face of transparency and process”.
   
That led to accusations of arrogance but South Africa officials made no attempt to hide their “bitter disappointment” and “desolation” with Wednesday's vote.
   
SA Rugby president Mark Alexander added in a statement: “We did everything in our power to bring the tournament to South Africa and we expected to have that right confirmed today.”
 
Taking a swipe at the vote, he said the “view of the experts” had been overturned by World Rugby Council members “who may have had other factors to take into account”. Roux complained that the process gone “opaque” over the last two weeks.
   
Beaumont denied World Rugby had been “humiliated” as a result of having the report's recommendation rejected.
   
“Just because it went to France doesn't mean there is humiliation,” he said.
   
“I was involved in a bid (for 2007) with England that got three votes many years ago — two of them were from England — so I can understand the disappointment.”
   
Beaumont, the captain of the 1980 British and Irish Lions beaten in a Test series in South Africa, added: “Like a game of rugby, some you win, some you lose.”
   
The 2023 tournament, the 10th Rugby World Cup, will coincide with what has long been regarded as the 200th anniversary of the sport when William Webb Ellis picked up a ball and ran with it at Rugby School in England.
   
It will follow the 2019 edition in Japan and, for the second time in a row, means a Rugby World Cup will take place a year before the same country stages the Olympics, with Tokyo hosting the 2020 Games.
   
England staged the most recent World Cup in 2015 which saw New Zealand win a second straight title after they triumphed on home soil in 2011.

CRIME

Spain women’s World Cup players demand more heads roll as Rubiales in court

The crisis within Spanish football deepened Friday as the women's World Cup winners demanded more heads roll at its scandal-hit RFEF federation whose disgraced ex-boss appeared in court on sexual assault charges.

Published: 16 September 2023 07:56 CEST
Spain women's World Cup players demand more heads roll as Rubiales in court

Just hours after Luis Rubiales was quizzed by a judge for kissing midfielder Jenni Hermoso, all but two of Spain’s 23 World Cup players said they would not don the national shirt without deeper changes within the RFEF, demanding its current interim head also resign.

The statement came as the squad’s new coach Montse Tome was to announce the lineup for two upcoming UEFA Women’s Nations League matches against Sweden and Switzerland, which was promptly postponed, federation sources said.

“The changes put in place are not enough,” said a statement signed by 39 players, among them 21 of the 23 World Cup winners.

Demanding “fundamental changes to the RFEF’s leadership”, they called for the “resignation of the RFEF president” Pedro Rocha, who took over as interim leader when FIFA suspended Rubiales on August 26.

But the federation insisted Rocha would “lead the transition process within the RFEF until the next election”, insisting any changes would be made “gradually”.

A federation source said a leadership election could take place early next year.

“This institution is more important than individuals and it’s crucial it remains strong. We’ll work tirelessly to create stability first in order to progress later,” Rocha said in the statement.

Despite a string of recent changes, the federation remains in the hands of officials appointed by Rubiales, and the players are demanding structural changes “within the office of the president and the secretary general”.

Brought to court by a kiss

The bombshell came after days of optimism within the RFEF that the players would come round after it sacked controversial coach Jorge Vilda, appointed Tome in his stead and pledged further changes, not to mention Rubiales’ long-awaited resignation on Sunday.

On August 25, 81 Spain players, including the 23 world champions, had started a mass strike saying they would not play for the national team without significant changes at the head of the federation.

Earlier on Friday, Rubiales appeared in court where he was quizzed by Judge Francisco de Jorge who is heading up the investigation into the kiss, which sparked international outrage and saw him brought up on sexual assault charges.

At the end of the closed-door hearing, in which Rubiales repeated his claim that the kiss was consensual, the judge ordered him not to come within 200 metres of Hermoso and barred him from any contact with the player.

At the weekend, the 46-year-old had described the kiss as “a spontaneous act, a mutual act, an act that both consented to, which was… 100 percent non-sexual” in an interview with British broadcaster Piers Morgan.

Hermoso, 33, has insisted it was not, describing it as “an impulsive, macho act, out of place and with no type of consent on my part”.

Speaking to reporters outside court, Hermoso’s lawyer Carla Vall said they were “very satisfied” with the hearing.

“Thanks to this video, everyone can see there was no consent whatsoever and that is what we will demonstrate in court.”

Allegations of coercion

Hermoso herself will also testify before the judge at some stage, who will then have to decide whether or not to push ahead with the prosecution. No date has been given for her testimony.

The complaint against Rubiales, which was filed by the public prosecutors’ office, cites alleged offences of sexual assault and coercion.

Under a recent reform of the Spanish penal code, a non-consensual kiss can be considered sexual assault, a category which groups all types of sexual violence.

If found guilty, Rubiales could face anything from a fine to four years in prison, sources at the public prosecutors’ office have said.

In their complaint, prosecutors explained the offence of coercion related to Hermoso’s statement saying she “and those close to her had suffered constant ongoing pressure by Luis Rubiales and his professional entourage to justify and condone” his actions.

At the hearing, Rubiales also denied coercion.

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