Back to football: the day after the indictment of the club president for aggravated sexual assault, the staff and players of the SCO of Angers preferred to refocus on the field, before receiving Lille on Friday, for a match under pressure.
"We said we wouldn't talk about it": during the traditional pre-match press conference of coach Stéphane Moulin Thursday afternoon, journalists were forbidden to ask questions about the affair judicial.
Angers president indicted for “aggravated sexual assault” via @ 20minutesSport https://t.co/M28Ueu8siY
- 20 Minutes Sport (@ 20minutesSport) February 5, 2020“What is important is the match. Obviously you, I have never seen you so numerous, I think that (the affair) interests you more than us. We are focused on the match, me the first (...). I'm doing my job, ”said the coach. Curtain therefore on the heavy news that weighs down the SCO.
Nothing either on the state of mind in which the players are: “We only saw each other yesterday morning (Wednesday) and we play tomorrow (Friday), so no time to measure the group. We will see, we have a session this afternoon, we will be able to see how they are physically and mentally.
"The rest belongs to the president"
However, on Wednesday, Saïd Chabane, the president who brought stability and efficiency to SCO Angers since 2011, was placed in police custody and then placed under investigation for “aggravated sexual assault” following complaints filed by four employees of the club. The four complainants, including a hostess, a secretary and a customer service representative, were between 20 and 25 years old at the time of the events, which spanned from 2014 to 2019. The magistrate spoke of "very strong caresses on the private parts But no rapes.
In a statement Wednesday, the club assured that the 55-year-old French-Algerian industrialist, elected "leader of the year" by France Football in 2019, refuted all the accusations and fully cooperated in the investigation. Since then, motus. "The club will be solid, as always," said Olivier Pickeu, sports director since 2006, who arrived at the training center ten minutes after the end of the - short - press conference at Moulin. "I want us to focus on the club and our work, the rest is up to the president."
- Soccer
- Angers SCO
- Sexual assault
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