Gabriel, former academy resident, says we are all potential bullies and all have been bullied | OneFootball

L'Équipe reports that behind the dream of making it, France’s training and pre-training centres have harboured bullying and physical and psychological violence. Former trainee Rémi Laâsri, in the system from 1999 to 2005, recalls believing suicide was his only escape.

At Vichy, aged 13, he faced pack hazing akin to manhunts, with seniors chasing juniors and beating those caught, forcing him to hide for hours in fear.

The report details other cases. At Bordeaux in the late 2010s, groups targeted younger players with traumatising violence and several were dismissed. An agent cites a historic club now in the lower divisions where a brutal initiation led parents to demand answers and a bullied player to fight back, only to be isolated.

The same intermediary has met bullies too, including a youngster who stole a team-mate’s belongings, and says harassment has at times split squads along ethnic lines. One dressing-room assault dislocated a player’s coccyx, and it is said a France international from the west is said to have suffered extreme abuse that led to teenage alcoholism before he rebuilt his career.

Families noticed children returning more aggressive, while staff often looked away. Former Nantes academy head Pierre Aristouy accepts dominant behaviour was once tolerated. In that period, before mobile phones linked boys to home, many felt left to sink or swim.

Former Toulouse academy director Denis Zanko points to rising parental and entourage expectations around the next Kylian Mbappé, creating pressure some offload onto others. Fondaction du Football’s Guillaume Naslin says online harassment is rarer in boarding, though workshops on social media are provided.

Responses are growing. Colosse aux pieds d’argile helped create Signal Sport, a Sports Ministry platform for reporting abuse, and runs awareness sessions. At Red Star, general manager Souleymane Camara promotes a caring culture and broader education inspired by Jules Rimet.

Source: L'Équipe