Disappearance of Medhi Narjissi: U18 management blamed for tragedy, according to the Federation (FFR)

Jalil et Valérie, les parents de Medhi Narjissi, ont saisi fin août le parquet d’Agen en vue d’obtenir l’ouverture d’une procédure en “recherche des causes de la disparition”. MAXPPP – Loïc Déquier

Medhi Narjissi was swept out to sea on a beach known to be dangerous near the Cape of Good Hope.

The French Rugby Federation concluded its investigation on Thursday into the disappearance at sea of ​​U18 international Medhi Narjissi by implicating the technical sports advisers present at this gathering of this category of the French team, in South Africa in August.

The federation asked the Ministry of Sports to terminate “the assignments to it of the technical sports advisers in charge during this trip, due to the breach of trust”which results from the events, according to a press release published after the end of the internal investigation conducted by the FFR.

The French U18 team was in South Africa as part of an international tournament when, on August 7, Medhi Narjissi was trapped by the currents and swept out to sea on a beach known to be dangerous near the Cape of Good Hope. The players were doing a recovery session there organized by the management.

Lack of clear instructions from the management

According to the federation, “the decision to organize a recovery session in the water on Dias Beach was taken without considering the dangerousness of the site” and especially when the “risks […] could have been perceived by at least one sports technical advisor” upstream of the activity.

It was the French team's physical trainer who made the decision to take them there. It's incomprehensible

“The running and supervision of the session seem to have been poorly controlled, particularly due to the lack of clear supervision instructions given to staff members and players”, the body also says in its press release. The FFR also asked the ministry for explanations on “the conditions under which the National Technical Directorate formed the staff of the French U18 team at the beginning of July 2024”, one month before the trip to South Africa.

The family of the young rugby player contacted the Agen public prosecutor's office at the end of August with a view to obtaining the opening of proceedings in “investigation of the causes of the disappearance”. During a press conference, Medhi's father, Jalil Narjissi, had castigated a “catastrophic” supervision where “no adult reacted” when Medhi was taken away. “It was the physical trainer of the French team who made the decision to take them there. It's incomprehensible” , he had declared.