The day Raymond Domenech was arrested at USA 1994 for reselling tickets | OneFootball

On 23 June 1994, Raymond Domenech was arrested outside Foxborough Stadium in Boston after trying to resell World Cup tickets before South Korea against Bolivia. Then France Under-21 coach and a France Télévisions pundit, he was due to commentate the match.

According to L'Équipe, France had missed USA 1994 under Gérard Houllier, yet DTN figures, including Aimé Jacquet and Domenech, were in the United States to observe games and prepare technical studies. The FFF had bought the unused tickets, and reselling at face value or less to recoup costs was said to be common, though the federation later stressed it had not asked national coaches to sell them outside stadia.

Two hours before kick-off, Domenech stood by the main entrance with three FFF tickets and called for buyers. Police moved in within a minute and, unaware of the law, he learned Massachusetts prohibits private ticket resale.

Taken to section 40, he was held alone in a cell and fully searched. He had converted 500 dollars of travellers cheques into cash that morning, which officers seized, believing it to be resale profit.

An elderly passer-by helped him make a call, and a contact in Dallas reached co-commentator Dominique Le Glou. Domenech arrived for only the final five or 10 minutes, and later spoke of an unpleasant body search.

Freed after the match, he appeared in court the next day, gave a brief yes to the charge and was released on 150 dollars bail. Thirty-two years on, he shows little desire to revisit the episode, saying he felt the federation and its DTN left him to face it alone.

Source: L'Équipe