Blanco points finger at English as French clubs threaten to boycott Heineken Cup
By Andrew Baldock
HEINEKEN Cup organisers have offered a cool response to the threat of next season's flagship competition being decimated by a French boycott.
Three-times European champions Toulouse, twice runners-up Stade Francais and last year's beaten finalists Biarritz could move into cold storage for the 2007-08 tournament if the mass withdrawal is carried out.
The full-blown French rebellion has been mooted for some time, with the country's leading clubs unhappy about the effect this year's World Cup in September and October will have on their domestic league fixture schedule. But France's Ligue Nationale de Rugby, the organisation which oversees the top clubs, and the league's president Serge Blanco have also pointed an accusing finger at England's Rugby Football Union.
Blanco claims the RFU reneged on an agreement to split equally its shareholding in European Rugby Cup Limited with Guinness Premiership clubs, which is what happens in France. English clubs maintain they want a greater stake in the tournament, which would be hugely devalued without a French presence.
A spokesman for European Rugby Cup (ERC), which organises the Heineken Cup, said: "ERC is aware of the statement issued by the LNR with regard to the French clubs and next season's Heineken Cup.
"ERC's six stakeholder nations are currently undergoing a process of reviewing and negotiating the Paris Accord, which is the agreement detailing the structure of the Heineken Cup and European Challenge Cup tournaments.
"The current accord runs until July 2007.
"The last stakeholders' meeting took place in Dublin on 10 January, and following the meeting a draft document is being produced for consideration by all parties. The next stakeholders' meeting is scheduled for early February."
If the proposed French boycott goes ahead, ERC would be left with a greatly diluted competition in terms of quality.
Currently a 24-team event, a reduction to 16 for next season would have to be considered - that was the 1999 format when English clubs boycotted it - or retained in its current guise, minus French representation.
Such a scenario though would be akin to a Champions League in soccer without clubs like Manchester United, AC Milan, Barcelona or Bayern Munich participating. Alternatively, but unlikely, the 2007-08 Heineken Cup and European Challenge Cup competitions could be scrapped.
Continued problems between the Premiership clubs and RFU, claim LNR, has led to uncertainty over the Heineken Cup's future.
Blanco, the former France full-back, said: "If the RFU had accepted to give 50 per cent of their stakes to the clubs, we would have taken part in the competitions [Heineken Cup and European Challenge Cup]."
Blanco also underlined a need to prioritise the French domestic league (Top 14) next term.
League games could take place during the World Cup, but clubs are fearful of drastically-reduced income from television and sponsorship revenues because they would be without their top international players.
In a statement, LNR said: "Due to the gravity and urgency of the situation, the LNR has consulted with the presidents of the Top 14 clubs.
"They have all unanimously indicated the conditions do not exist for the LNR to sign the new agreement governing the European Cup [due to take effect in 2009] and because of this, French clubs will not be participating in next season's tournament."
Blanco has long been an outspoken defender of the French club competition and said that next season, when France host the World Cup in September and October, the combination of internationals and Heineken Cup matches would place intolerable pressure on the French league and the English Premiership.
Last April he threatened a French boycott of the Heineken Cup because he wanted France and England to have more representation in its organisation on the basis of their strong playing record and wanted to reduce the number of qualification slots from Wales and Ireland.
Since the tournament began in 1995-96, French and English clubs have won nine of the 11 finals, with Ireland taking the other two, including Munster's success last year.
Scotland currently has two places in the Heineken Cup and one in the European Challenge Cup.