England refuse to release James Haskell to Stade Francais

Thursday 4 March 2010
Published By: Amy Nicholson
Six Nations > England

England have come under fire from Stade Francais after refusing to release James Haskell to compete for the club.

The French side are reportedly considering launching an appeal after the RFU said that Haskell could not compete for the club in this weekend's match against Toulouse, despite not being in action for England until March 13th.

Stade Francais owner Max Guazzini hit out at the RFU, telling the Daily Mail that the team does not have the same problem with the other sides competing in the Six Nations.

"There's no problem with other countries - the French players are all here, the Italians, the Scottish. It's only a problem with England. Why should England decide to treat James Haskell like a hostage?" he said.

Meanwhile, Simon Gillham, Brive's chief executive, told the Times that there is a "growing feeling" among French clubs that they will avoid buying contracted England players in the future to avoid similar situations.

Posted by Amy Nicholson