Nikola Karabatic, who received 46% of the votes among men, may not ultimately be able to be designated as the flag bearer: while his criminal record and conviction (in 2017, two months of suspended prison sentence and a 10,000 euro fine in a sports betting case) are not an obstacle (he must have been sentenced to heavier penalties, recorded in the bulletin 3 of the criminal record), the PSG player should be ruled out for another reason. According to information revealed by Le Parisien and confirmed by L’Équipe, athletes vying for the position of flag bearer will have to pledge on their honor not to have been involved in a sports manipulation case, which is the case with Karabatic.
