By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Interviewed by L’Équipe, the president of the French basketball federation Jean-Pierre Siutat talked about the fracture that has been created between France and Thomas Heurtel after his decision to join Zenit Saint Petersburg.
Siutat heavily condemned Heurtel’s decision to break the agreement with the FFBB in which he previously stated he won’t play for any Russian or Belarusian team in order to represent France at EuroBasket 2022. “Concerning Thomas, to whom we had clearly presented things, he did not respect his commitment. To date, for me, I consider that he will no longer be there (in the France national team). It’s over”, he said.
Livio Jean-Charles and Louis Labeyrie, who respectively signed with CSKA Moscow and UNICS Kazan without signing any federal charter, have also been removed by Vincent Collet’s team. But Siutat left the door open for them. “We can discuss those already in Russia who had not signed the attestation”, he added.
Thomas Heurtel, who joined Zenit Saint Petersburg 72 hours after the EuroBasket final loss against Spain, responded in an Instagram story previously responded to criticism over signing in Russia. He’s currently averaging 7 points and 7.8 assists per game in the VTB League.