Two French rugby players caught in the nude in front of the Mdina cathedral in broad daylight as punishment for a sub-par performance were discharged on condition they do not commit another crime in six months and fined €250.

The players, who play for French rugby team Essec, pleaded guilty. 

The French team is on a training camp in Malta.
Police inspector Neville Mercieca told the court that they were alerted about the case by a fixed-point officer stationed outside the residence of former EU ambassador Richard Cachia Caruana.
This was apparently a form of punishment reserved for the two worst performers in the team’s last match, he told the court.

During submission on punishment legal aid lawyer Victor Bugeja argued for a lenient sentence, while noting that his clients had collaborated with the police and filed a guilty plea at an early stage.

Magistrate Natasha Galea Sciberras presided over the court.