“I can’t let an adult hit my child”: young footballer attacked in Fleury, the emotion of a father

“If this gentleman had come into the field with a knife, my kid would have died.” The words of this father are strong but demonstrate all the anguish that gripped him on Sunday morning at the edge of the pitch at Stade Lascombe in Fleury-Mérogis. In 2024, violence continues at the edge of amateur football fields.

At the end of a Regional 1 match between the U16s of ACBB, a Boulogne-Billancourt club, and those of FC Fleury on Sunday January 14, an explanation arose between the Boulogne coach and an opposing player. What followed was the start of a scuffle and the entry onto the pitch of an unauthorized person, present in the stands during the match. Things quickly escalated and the intruder then punched several young players from Boulogne in the faces. One of them would have ended up with a bloody face, hit in the nose by the individual.

“I was going to my car, and when I turned around, I saw a crowd of players and my son with his face covered in blood,” explains his father, who was present during the meeting. I tried to fight directly with the person who typed it, but my son came to me and asked me to calm down. He reacted like an adult. »

However, nothing suggested such an incident during the match, which ended with a 2-1 victory for FC Fleury. “It was a decent match, there were a few mistakes, it was annoying but that’s part of the game,” continues the father.

“We went to the police station to file a complaint,” he says, his voice still full of emotion. I can’t let an adult hit my child on the field. I’ve been angry for a week. We are all anxious at home, we are not well and we wonder if we are right to fight and if we will be heard. »

“This person has no reason to be covered”

The young man allegedly attacked is none other than the nephew of former professional rugby player Bakary Meïté. It was he who made the decision, in agreement with the parents, to relay the facts on X (formerly Twitter).

Bonjour @FCFleury91 my nephew and one of his teammates @ACBB_Football were attacked by an individual who came to physically attack their coach during the U16 match last Sunday. Blows to the face. A complaint has clearly been identified 1/

— Baky Meïté (@therealbak) January 18, 2024

Accustomed to the fight against physical and verbal violence on sports fields, Bakary Meïté did not hesitate to denounce this aggression for which it was necessary to wait 5 days and his own revelations to hear about it publicly, Fleury and the ACBB having chosen to remain silent.

“I have the impression that when it happens on a field, there are lots of things that can be excused or decontextualized, this person has no reason to be covered. We are talking about a U16 match and an unauthorized adult who enters the field to hit children, declared the former player who played at Stade Français, Massy, ​​Béziers and Carcassonne. We are making a report at this very moment to the FFF and the ACBB club has contacted us.”

For the player, the primary desire is to move on as quickly as possible. “He’s back training, he just wants to play football and be a kid. He dreams like all kids of being Mbappé, even if I would prefer him to have a baccalaureate + 10,” concludes the father of the 15-year-old teenager.

On the Floriacu side, it is time for defense, the attacker being suspected by the Boulogne clan of being a member of the club. If FC Fleury has not yet communicated publicly, it ensures that it has received the educators, the delegate and the people present on site.

The Essonne club recognizes the violence committed on its ground, but also claims not to have heard anything about a player bleeding after the scuffle and prefers to let the investigation take place before speaking out.

“The Fleury club has, for several years, been part of an approach against brawls and violence on football fields. What happened does not fit into our register at all,” declared Christophe Horta, administrative manager of FC Fleury 91.