2023 Rugby World Cup boss sacked over management concerns

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Claude Atcher, the chief executive of the 2023 Rugby World Cup, was fired Tuesday by tournament organizers after being suspended in August by France's sports minister for "alarming managerial practices."

An initial investigation into Atcher's management style discovered evidence of "deep social malaise" within the organization.

Following a meeting of the 2023 tournament organizing committee's board of directors on Monday, the French Rugby Federation, French Olympic officials, and the French government ratified Atcher's suspension.

In a statement, the organizing committee said, "Taking note of the report's conclusions, France 2023's Board of Directors has decided to terminate the contract of its CEO, Claude Atcher."

The preliminary findings of a Labour Inspectorate investigation, which was launched at the end of June after he was accused by an article in sports daily L'Equipe of "management by terror," prompted Atcher's suspension.

According to an ethics committee report, the 66-year-old was accused of "alarming managerial practices altering the functioning of the structure and causing suffering to a certain number of employees."

Several former and current employees, speaking on the condition of anonymity in the L'Equipe article, spoke out about Atcher and his chief of staff's "management by terror" within the organization.

Julien Collette, Atcher's deputy, will take over as CEO.

It is worth noting that the Rugby World Cup begins on September 8 next year, with France hosting New Zealand at the Stade de France, which will also host the final on October 28.