Thomas Ertel was announced by Zenit. The contract with an experienced defender was signed for one year with the possibility of extension for another one.

Both sides have been negotiating for some time. In the summer, the French federation made it clear that there would be no athletes in the national team who play in the national team of Russia and Belarus.

Ertel’s agreement with Zenit seems to have ended his presence in the French national team. The country’s basketball federation issued a statement on the matter, explaining that Thomas Ertel was expelled from the national team.

📢 FFBB is reacting to the situation with Thomas Hörtel. + d’infos when following this link: https://t.co/j9OCQtMJ4Z pic.twitter.com/06Ao1wvMTB

— FFBB (@ffbasketball) September 22, 2022

“The French Basketball Federation has received information that the Russian club Zenit (St. Petersburg) has announced the signing of a one-year contract with Thomas Ertel with the possibility of extending for another year.

Although the FFBB was indeed informed about Tom Ertel’s contacts with foreign clubs, including Russian ones, it has never been reported that he has signed or is about to sign a contract with a Russian club.

Before the start of training for the French national team at the end of July, the player signed a sworn statement in which he stated that he was not bound by obligations and did not intend to sign a contract for the national team of Russia or Belarus.

If Thomas Ertel had played for Zenit, this obligation would not have been fulfilled and the point guard would no longer qualify for upcoming international competitions, including the 2024 Olympics, as decided by the Federation on 28 July.”