Fijian legend misses out on a million euros after a legal dispute won by Top 14 giants.

After Racing 92 fired Fiji rugby player Leone Nakarawa after the 2019 Rugby World Cup, Nakarawa lost his legal struggle with the Top 14 club.

When the second-rower was fired by the Parisian club for not reporting back to the team in a timely manner following the World Cup in Japan, the club demanded a million euros in compensation.

Nakarawa took a plane back to his native Fiji following the team’s tournament elimination. Racing 92 terminated his contract because he did not arrive back to France on time and took an additional 15 days of vacation without obtaining the required authorization.

Not arriving back on schedule
After a brief stay at Toulon, the second-rower returned to Glasgow Warriors and is currently playing for Top 14 team Castres.

Nakarawa and Racing 92 are currently embroiled in a legal dispute, with the lock seeking a million euros as compensation for the unjust termination of his contract.

Nakarawa came before the judges of the Paris Court of Appeal after his appeal at the industrial tribunal was unsuccessful. He argued that the club had given him verbal permission to prolong his absence.

According to his attorney, Arnaud Dubois, “it was legitimate for him to take leave before resuming competition, both in terms of his health and his investment for his employing club.”

extortion
Judges of the Paris Court of Appeal, however, disagreed, claiming that Nakarawa had devised a scheme to extort him back into the club.

“After going over the exchanges of WhatsApp messages, it became clear that Mr. Nakarawa had devised a kind of blackmail by tying his return to training to payment of specific amounts,” the report’s conclusion stated.

The agent for the Fijian international had suggested that Racing 92 fine Nakarawa two months’ salary in order to keep the matter out of court.

Despite being in his latter years and having participated in 28 games for Castres in the Top 14 and Challenge Cup this season, the 36-year-old is not slowing down.

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