French slapped with parking fine in Croydon

France's scrum half Sebastien Tillous-Borde at the Selsdon Park Hotel and Golf Club in Croydon. Photo / Getty Images

The French rugby team's woes in the town of Croydon have continued - they've been slapped with a parking ticket.

The squad were assigned in a hotel in the South London Borough for the duration of the Rugby World Cup, with players reportedly unhappy about the placement.

However, it seems they've got even more to be unhappy about now - local man Dan Hicks tweeted a picture of the team's bus being issued with a parking ticket, captioning it "Welcome to Croydon, Team France!! #ParkingTicket".

Welcome to Croydon, Team France!! @rugbyworldcup @CroydonAd @CroydonGuardian #ParkingTicket #FML #ExpensiveCurry pic.twitter.com/7K3ZJR9Fnw

— Dan M Hicks (@DanMHicks) September 16, 2015

He told the BBC he'd seen the incident unfold outside a restaurant when he rode past the bus on his motorbike.

"The opportunity was too good to miss so I turned around to get the photo."

Croydon Council told the BBC the coach was "parked illegally in a bus stop on a busy main road", while a spokesperson for the French national side said he was "not aware" of the incident.

However, he confirmed to the BBC that the squad had been out for dinner at the time.
It was reported earlier that French prop Uini Atonio had complained about a noisy wedding party at the team's hotel keeping him up all night. French newspaper MetroNews went on to describe Croydon as "dull and monotonous".

A spokeswoman for Croydon Council told the BBC the ticket was not "Croydon's revenge for disparaging remarks allegedly made about the town".

Meanwhile, Lionel Rossigneux, spokesman for the French squad, told the BBC players were enjoying Croydon.

"Everything is fine. We are enjoying the place," he said. "The hotel is great. All the staff are very dedicated to the team. It's quiet which is exactly what we need for the team."

- nzherald.co.nz