BREAKING: Fijian misses out on a million euros after a legal dispute won by Top 14 giants.
Rugby player Leone Nakarawa of Fiji lost his legal struggle with Racing 92 after the Top 14 team sacked him after the Rugby World Cup 2019. After being fired for not reporting back to the Paris club in time following the World Cup in Japan, the second-rower requested a million euros in compensation from the French team. Following the team’s tournament demise, Nakarawa took a plane back to his native Fiji. He took an additional 15 days of vacation without getting permission, and because he didn’t get back to France in time, Racing 92 terminated his contract.
Not arriving back on schedule
After a brief stay at Toulon, the second-rower returned to Glasgow Warriors and is currently playing for Top 14 team Castres. Nakarawa and Racing 92 are currently embroiled in a legal dispute, with the lock seeking a million euros as compensation for the unjust termination of his contract. Nakarawa came before the judges of the Paris Court of Appeal after his appeal at the industrial tribunal was unsuccessful. He argued that the club had given him verbal permission to prolong his absence.
According to Arnaud Dubois, his attorney, “it was legitimate for him to take leave before resuming competition, both in terms of his health and his investment for his employing club.”
Threatening behavior.
Nevertheless, the justices of the Paris Court of Appeal disagreed, stating that Nakarawa had devised a means of coercion to revisit the club. “After reviewing the exchanges of WhatsApp messages, it becomes evident that Mr. Nakarawa had devised a scheme of blackmail by requiring the payment of specific amounts in order for him to resume training,” the report’s conclusion stated. To prevent the matter from going to court, Racing 92’s agent for the Fijian international had suggested that Nakarawa be fined two months’ wages.
Despite being in his latter years and having participated in 28 games for Castres in the Top 14 and Challenge Cup this season, the 36-year-old is not slowing down.