After his attack, a judicial investigation was opened for "criminal association" and "aggravated violence". The investigation was then expanded for "organized gang fraud" because of suspicions of actions in the entourage of Aminata Diallo, former PSG player suspected of being involved in the attack on Hamraoui. In this part, César Mavacala, sports advisor to Marie-Antoinette Katoto and Kadidiatou Diani, two close to Diallo, was indicted.

Question: How is your arrival at Club America in Mexico?

Answer: "My welcome went very well, the people are great here. My integration was very fast. I speak Spanish, so it made things easier too."

Q: Why did you sign in Mexico? Do you feel liberated away from France?

A: "The first is that I wanted and needed to know something else. I won everything in Europe, played for the biggest clubs (OL, PSG, Barcelona). I also needed to know a new culture, a new football and rediscover the public's enthusiasm for our sport. In some European leagues, the commitment of clubs to women's football is not up to what is expected. Popular passion is not always there, either. A PSG-OL poster should fill a stadium, as in Spain for example. But this is far from being the case. When I arrived here, I immediately felt and understood that it was a football country (...) Here, I have everything to flourish and play my best football. I'm in a healthy environment and that's the most important thing. I have experienced traumatic moments in France and being here can only do me good. After the attack I suffered, I was not spared by my club, social networks and the French press."

Kheira Hamraoui, still wearing the jersey of Paris during the quarter-final first leg of the Champions League lost 1-0 against Wolfsburg at the Parc des Princes in Paris on March 22, 2023. © FRANCK FIFE / AFP

Q: Did you want to turn the page on your time at Paris Saint-Germain? Do you blame your former club for the way it handled the post-aggression?

A: "I turned the page at the final whistle of my last match with PSG. Some of my former teammates and club employees know how badly I was abused by PSG after my attack. That didn't stop me from fighting to get back on the pitch and regain my place as a starter. To be clear, my assault was highly publicized. It is an extraordinary case that knows only one precedent in the entire history of modern sport (the Kerrigan-Harding affair around the Olympic figure skating competition at the Lillehammer Winter Games in 1994, Editor's note). Perhaps PSG did not know or wanted to manage all this media attention for reasons other than sport. They took the easy way out by trying to push me out before the end of my contract. It's a misunderstanding of the lioness in me. I left with my head held high and having demonstrated that I was one of the major players in this squad."

Then a Paris Saint-Germain midfielder, Kheira Hamraoui was a major part of the Paris team eliminated in the quarter-finals of the 2023 Champions League by Wolfsburg (here in the first leg on March 22 at the Parc des Princes). © FRANCK FIFE / AFP

Q: Looking back, do you still think PSG "neglected" you, if so why?

A: "We should also and above all ask the leaders of PSG about their attitude towards me. But I can say it today, PSG hurt me a lot psychologically and I was disappointed by this club. As you know, the sports advisor of two of PSG's main players (Marie-Antoinette Katoto and Kadidiatou Diani, now at OL, editor's note) has been indicted, on the sidelines of my assault case. This new case has highlighted the pressure exerted behind the scenes by some people to try to remove me."

Kheira Hamraoui collapses on the pitch after Paris SG were eliminated in the Champions League quarter-finals by Wolfsburg on March 30, 2023, after a 1-0 defeat in Paris and a 1-1 draw in Germany. © Odd ANDERSEN / AFP

Q: You considered it unfair that you were not selected for the World Cup France team last summer. Do you have any hope for the Olympics at home next year?

A: "My dream is to go back one day, even though I have no hope. I was dismissed before the World Cup for so-called +sporting+ reasons. Those who follow women's football and its France team know what to expect. There too, one day, we will discover, perhaps, the underside of the cards of my eviction. I am convinced that if I had been Swedish, English or Spanish, I would never have been abandoned by my federation or my club, as I was after my attack. I've said it before and I'll say it again: in France, we don't like victims."

Interview by Alice LEFEBVRE.

© 2023 AFP