French rugby president Bernard Laporte submits resignation

This comes after Laporte was convicted of influence peddling and illegally acquiring assets, leading to him stepping aside last month.

RESIGNING: Bernard Laporte, head of the French Rugby Federation. Pic: AP Photo/Christophe Ena

French rugby was thrown into further turmoil just over seven month before the World Cup as Bernard Laporte resigned as president of the French rugby federation (FFR) amid legal trouble on Friday.

"I can confirm Bernard Laporte's resignation. I welcome this decision... which is a good thing for French rugby, for its values and for the future," sports minister Amelie Oudea Castera told reporters.