Europe 1 with AFP 7:41 p.m., December 20, 2022

A preliminary investigation for online moral harassment was opened on November 18 in Paris after the complaint filed by a supporter slapped by Neymar in 2019, whose identity was then disclosed on Twitter, the Paris prosecutor's office said on Tuesday.

The Paris prosecutor's office opened a preliminary investigation for online moral harassment on November 18.

At issue: a complaint filed by Nelson, the supporter slapped by Neymar in 2019, after the Coupe de France final lost by PSG against Rennes.

The investigations were entrusted to the Brigade for the repression of delinquency against the person (BRDP), according to the same source, confirming a source close to the file.

This Stade Rennes supporter, who managed a restaurant, had filed a complaint in October, in particular for the collection of personal data by fraudulent or unfair means and moral harassment.

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Identity revealed on Twitter

It was based, among other things, on a Mediapart article according to which Paris Saint-Germain allegedly instructed a communication agency, Digital Big Brother (DBB), between 2018 and 2020, to create fake Twitter accounts to carry out hostile campaigns against targets of the football club of the capital, which the latter disputes.

The strategy revolved around a "reference" account, Paname Squad, which presents itself on Twitter as a "collective of Paris Saint-Germain enthusiasts".

Among the targets was the Stade Rennes supporter slapped by Neymar after PSG's defeat in the 2019 Coupe de France final. Paname Squad had revealed their identity and year of birth on Twitter.

According to the complaint, "following the disclosure of his identity, he was arrested in the street, the clientele of his restaurant decreased, people passed in front of his home and threatened him".

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Digital harassment

"Digital harassment is a serious offense and it is normal for the judicial authorities to react and try to identify the perpetrators", reacted the supporter's lawyer Me Philippe Ohayon.

According to a summary report dated September from the General Directorate of Internal Security (DGSI), the director of PSG communications at the time asked after the match Malik Nait-Liman, then referent-supporters of the club and former agent of the DGSI, to find information on him.

Mr. Nait-Liman would then have asked a police officer still on duty to consult the files on the criminal record.

Malik Nait-Liman, suspected of having with two other men played on his relationships to illegally transmit sensitive and confidential information to third parties, including PSG, was indicted on September 29, in particular for complicity and concealment of breach of secrecy. professional.

For his gesture, Neymar had received a reminder of the law.