PARIS (Reuters) - Former Australia rugby union captain Rocky Elsom was sentenced to two years in jail after a French court on Friday found him guilty of misusing corporate assets while president of French club Narbonne.
Elsom, 42, who was at Narbonne from 2013-16, was convicted in absentia and an international warrant has been issued for his arrest. He was also ordered to pay a 100,000 euros ($108,870.00) fine, with half the sum suspended, a ruling from the Narbonne court showed.
In February, the public prosecutor had requested three years' imprisonment and a 630,000 euros fine for Elsom, who was retried after appealing an initial five-year prison sentence handed down in October 2024. He has denied the charges.
At the October 2024 trial, which he also did not attend, Elsom had been found guilty of forgery, use of forgery and misuse of corporate assets.
The forgery charges were dropped from the 2025 trial but Elsom has to pay compensation of 219,760 euros to the club's liquidator.
A powerful blindside flanker, Elsom played 75 tests for the Wallabies and captained the team from 2009 until just before the 2011 Rugby World Cup.
($1 = 0.9185 euros)
(Reporting by Juliette Jabkhiro; Writing by Dominique Vidalon; Editing by Ken Ferris)
