French Basketball Federation, Russia’s Zenit St. Stating a 1+1-year contract with the Petersburg club, playmaker Thomas Heurtel announced that he will not be selected for the national team as long as he plays for the Russian club.
The French Basketball Federation published a statement at the beginning of August and announced that French basketball players who signed contracts with Russian or Belarusian teams would not be invited to the national team. Russian club Zenit announced yesterday that it has signed a 1+1 year contract with Thomas Heurtel. Following this statement, the French Basketball Federation shared a statement regarding Thomas Heurtel. In the statement of the federation, Heurtel, whose name was also mentioned with Russian clubs in July, made an sworn statement stating that he did not sign a contract or a preliminary protocol with any Russian team. After the official signings, the federation decided that Heurtel’s Zenit St. He stated that he will not be invited to the national team again, including the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, as long as he plays for the St. Petersburg club.
France won the silver medal, losing to Spain in the final of the European Basketball Championship. Heurtel averaged 10.4 points, 2.4 rebounds and 7.1 assists in 9 games against France in this tournament.