Sacked Guy Noves awarded hefty sum in FFR firing case

Sacked French rugby coach Guy Noves has been handed €1m by an industrial tribunal who ruled he was unfairly dismissed by the French Rugby Federation.

However, the award is much lower than the former Toulouse coach wanted and both parties have the right to appeal. Noves was asking for 2.88 euros as compensation for the decision to strip him of the national coaching role which he lost after six consecutive defeats between June and November 2017, a string of results that federation chief Bernard Laporte deemed unacceptable.

The French rugby federation was ordered by an industrial tribunal on to pay €1 million in the first case of its kind involving the national coach of the French team. The tribunal heard that Noves had become the first France coach ever to be sacked, in December 2017, after seven wins from 22 matches alongside 14 defeats and a humiliating home draw with 2019 World Cup hosts Japan.

The FFR alleged Noves was guilty of serious misconduct, but a Toulouse labour tribunal decided otherwise. Noves was originally installed as head coach with a contract that ran until the end of the World Cup in Japan. However, he was replaced by Jacques Brunel who has faced severe criticism for his own record which includes a home loss to Fiji last November. France are in the same World Cup pool as England, Argentina, Tonga and the USA.

Noves believed the Federation’s failure to comply with employment procedures by the FFR, who initiated his dismissal without any prior interview, allowed him to ask for significant damages which revolved around salary he claimed would be owed to him under his contract.

“We have been waiting for this result for 15 months. We got it, I’m satisfied. My honor is clean;”, said Novès to reporters. “There is no serious fault on my part and it is the most important. It’s satisfying. Is it behind me? I do not know because it’s hard to suffer this kind of accusation.

“I did not deserve that. It’s a relief, but I’ll never forget. Personally, I am satisfied with the result and I will not appeal. ”

France are set to appoint a new coach to replace Brunel before they leave to take part in the World Cup with the new man taking over after the tournament.