France’s World Cup preparations disturbed by calls to drop Chalureau in racism controversy

Only days before the Rugby World Cup starts in France, the home team's preparations for the tournament have been disrupted by calls to remove one of its players because of a historic racism charge. The controversy started over the weekend after injured lock Paul Willemse was replaced in France’s 33-man squad by Bastien Chalureau. Chalureau’s inclusion was immediately questioned by several left-wing French lawmakers, who said they will ask Sports Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra to intervene and make sure the player would not be selected because of a sentencing back in 2020 for racially motivated acts of violence.