Tired of hearing his attacker Bastien Chalureau speak in the media without receiving any opposition, former rugby player Yannick Larguet chose to speak out, now that the Rugby World Cup is over and he no longer risks pollute the environment of the Blues. “I kept quiet during the World Cup, even though I was extremely busy. The World Cup in France is an incredible opportunity, supporting and preserving the French team was my priority. I also tried to protect my family. But this is no longer possible. When I read that he affirms that the victims are lying and when I hear that this story, it is nothing other than a fight, an altercation…” Larguet explained to The Team.
Attacked by the French international while he was returning home with a friend, Nassim Arif, also a former rugby player, on the night of January 30 to 31, 2020, in the city center of Toulouse, Yannick Larguet cannot believe it that Chalureau maintains, as he did again recently during his appeal trial, that the attack had no racist character. “When you get hit from behind when entering a parking lot, being called stupid, it’s not a fight. This is the most extreme cowardice. In a fight, there are two people facing each other who want to fight. Semantics are important. This is a motivated attack,” insisted the ex-winger or center, aged 43.
“Don’t let anything pass”
Asked what he felt when he saw Bastien Chalureau being called by Galthié to compensate for the departure of the injured Paul Willemse at the World Cup, Larguet confided that he “felt alone”. “I hallucinated. I was shocked by the silence, by this latent hypocrisy of the media, of the authorities, and, finally, by the anachronistic and late side of the controversy. I know certain members of the Blues staff well, and I have always made a point of sparing them, of avoiding this subject. But I felt alone. Like Nassim in fact. »
Today, if he comes out of silence, it is also to denounce racism in rugby in general. “We must also absolutely flee and move away from this truth which is not a truth: ‘Racism does not exist in rugby.’ This is not true. Ask kids of color, some professionals. Everyone knows, but no one acts. It’s two lines in a newspaper, and two days later, it’s forgotten. In my opinion, we must support and educate young people at the age when they are able to understand their mistakes, from rugby school where we must work to eradicate certain attitudes and words, and take advantage of them before sanctioning without explain. We must no longer let anything pass. »