Story By: Joseph Golder, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Golder’s News And Sport
The president of Ligue 1 side Angers has been accused of aggravated sexual assault by female employees of the club and he has reportedly been detained this morning.
According to Ouest-France, club president Said Chabane was detained by police this morning (Wednesday) and is currently being questioned by officers.
According to RMC and FranceInfo, Chabane is the subject of a complaint for aggravated sexual assault and sexual harassment. He has reportedly been detained while the authorities carry out a preliminary investigation.
The news has surfaced today (Wednesday) “from a source close to the investigation”, according to FranceInfo, which appears to confirm RMC’s report.
According to L’Equipe, a complaint was filed by a female employee of the club in January and this triggered an investigation by the Angers prosecutor’s office.
According to the RMC radio station, Chabane allegedly had other victims too. There are reportedly two more victims that have been identified so far. The three women are between 25 and 35 years old and have not been named due to strict local privacy laws. They are all either employees of the club or former employees.
According to the radio station, the three women all tell the same story. They allege that he rubbed himself against their bodies, touched their bottoms, their breasts, and their private parts, without their consent.
The “aggravated sexual assault” comes from the fact that Chabane is (or was) the alleged victims’ hierarchical superior at the club.
Chabane’s lawyer was reportedly contacted by RMC but declined to comment.
Chabane, 55, has been president of Angers SCO, which he also owns, since 2011, and they currently sit 13th in the French Ligue 1. Angers is a city in France in the Maine-et-Loire department south-west of Paris.
Chabane was born in Alger, the capital of Algeria and moved to France when he was 23. He bought Angers SCO in 2011 for 1.7 million EUR (1.4 million GBP). A businessman in the food trade, he is known to run his club like his businesses: rigorously.
Under his leadership, Angers have performed well in Ligue 1, even making it to the French Cup final in 2017.
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