The French Rugby Federation has determined that the tragic disappearance at sea of a under-18 international was partly caused by a poorly organised recovery session.
Medhi Narjissi, 17, was swept away in the waters off the coast of Cape Town during France’s tour of South Africa in August.
“The decision to organise a recovery session in the water on Dias Beach was taken without considering the dangerousness of the site, in particular rip currents, waves and rocks,” the federation said.
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Medhi Narjissi. Twitter
Narjissi is the son of former Morocco rugby captain Jalil Narjissi and was on the books of Top 14 champions Toulouse.
There were warning signs at the beach and the federation interviewed all of the staff and some of the players involved.
“It’s not an accident, it was caused,” Jalil Narjissi told reporters.
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“A bus accident, a plane crash, or if Medhi gets hurt and becomes paraplegic, we are all sorry, dejected. But not this, not something like that. They played with the lives of our children.”
The federation said it was exploring the possibility of taking action against the officials in charge of the team at the time.
The governing body added that it had presented its findings to both Narjissi’s parents and the French Ministry of Sport.
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