Rugby ruck over nude calendar

A RUCK has broken out between the bosses of Paris’ two big rugby teams over the latest edition of the Dieux du Stade calendar featuring nude players.

The calendar, which sells 1.5 million copies in France and across the world, launches today but Racing Métro 92 Jacky Lorenzetti has demanded that rivals Stade Français delete a picture of one of his players, centre Henry Chavancy.

Stade Français have been selling the €26 calendar, which contains “tasteful” nude pictures of bronzed Stade players plus invited members of other clubs, for the past 10 years and over that time it has made them €40m, making up 20% of the club’s annual budget.

However, Lorenzetti says 23-year-old Chavancy made a mistake in agreeing to pose without speaking to his Racing Métro bosses and had now withdrawn his permission for the picture.

Former Stade Français president Max Guazzini, who is still in charge of producing the calendar, told news site 20 Minutes: “I’m not interested in Jacky Lorenzetti’s rantings. It’s a very thoughtful picture – plus the calendar also contains another Racing player [centre Guillaume] Boussès and last year it had [Racing player] Mirco Bergamasco.”

A spokesman for Stade Français says it has only just received a lawyer’s letter calling for the picture to be pulled because of a “supposed slight on Racing’s image”. It was too late to make changes and the calendar will go ahead as planned with pictures of Stade players plus other clubs. It added that Chavancy had signed a contract agreeing to publication.

New Stade president Thomas Savare added in a statement on the club’s website: “I regret that M Lorenzetti has sparked a controversy over our calendar Dieux du Stade. I can understand that its runaway success could cause jealousy.”

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