Without him, without his nerve at the very end of the quarter-final of the recent European championship in Berlin, France would have fallen against Italy. Thomas Heurtel put on the nation’s savior costume by scoring the last points to push the Blues to extra time. We know the rest: the miraculous qualification and a royal road to the final. Only with the final against Spain, the leader probably played, at 33, his 97th and last match with the Blues. The former Real Madrid player closed the doors of the France team.
What happened ?
Without a club since last April, after the breach of his contract at Real Madrid with whom he was in conflict, the European champion in 2013 signed up for a year, plus another optional one, in favor of Zenith Saint Petersburg in Russia on Wednesday. That is the problem. In reaction to the signings of internationals – not retained by Collet for the Euro – Louis Labeyrie and Livio Jean-Charles in Russian clubs at the beginning of the summer, the French basketball federation was clear: “The players of the French teams will no longer be selectable if they sign a contract with a Russian club, as long as the conflict in Ukraine is ongoing. If this commitment was not respected, the player would no longer meet the selection criteria for the next international deadlines, including the 2024 Olympic Games, ”said the FFBB firmly. Before the Euro, all the players, including Heurtel, had signed a “sworn statement” not to play in Russia. “Whether or not I understand this decision is not your problem. You ask if I signed. I signed, ”he said, annoyed. So he broke the pact. Why ? Money and a juicy contract should not be foreign to the case.
At-the lie?
The former Real Madrid leader has probably finalized his next destination during the Euro, at the hotel in Berlin, if not before. According to several sources, he would even have been engaged since July. “My agents are in contact with clubs, Russian clubs, in particular, if you want to know. We will see what happens in the future, ”he slipped in July after having yet signed the certificate. If he had actually given his agreement to the Zenith before signing the agreement, he would then have lied openly to the Federation. Unless she knew.
Was the federation aware?
On the way to Australia where the Women’s World Cup begins this Thursday, the federation’s headquarters did not react to this dramatic change. She plans to do so when she arrives on Thursday. Did she know? Impossible to say at the moment. A few clues may explain it. At the start of preparation this summer, the French team lacked experienced leaders for a competition of this magnitude. Moreover, on Monday, Thomas Heurtel did not take the same plane as the rest of the delegation to return from Berlin. He had stayed in Germany “for personal reasons” before joining the Blues at the end of the day, participating in the evening and posing with his partners for a souvenir photo. Perhaps Thomas Heurtel’s last with the blue jersey.
Could he be at the Olympics?
An enigmatic character, Heurtel cannot ignore that this signing most likely marks the end of his adventure with the Blues. The selection ban measure will last until the end of the conflict in Ukraine, which has been running for eight months. Heurtel is 33 years old and behind him, the reservoir of French basketball is rich. Could he return for the 2024 Olympics? Technically, his contract could end in full preparation of the Blues, which would deprive him de facto of a selection. It is also difficult to imagine the Federation, if he has alienated it, reopening the doors of the selection to him.