13 French players identified over banned betting

Paris - Thirteen first and second division rugby players in France have been identified by gambling regulators ARJEL for having ignored a ban against betting, the French national Rugby League (LNR) said in a statement on Monday.

The LNR said disciplinary proceedings had been opened against seven of the 13 players, although it didn't name anyone.

It said they were "suspected of having participated in Top 14 or Pro D2 matches" between April 1, 2015 and January 17 of this year on which the banned betting took place.

The other six "will be reminded about the rules", the LNR added.

However, it said that analysis had not shown any attempts at "fraud or manipulation".

The LNR said these figures showed a 61 percent decrease on the previous year where 33 players had failed to respect the ban on betting.