He denounces “sidelining”, sometimes accompanied by “media denigration”, “harassment” and a “strategy of isolation”. The main union of professional footballers, the UNFP, filed a complaint against X on Tuesday, via its lawyers Julia Minkowski and Leon del Forno of the Temime law firm, for moral harassment and extortion. A way of speaking out against the practice of lofting, which consists of sidelining an unwanted player or one without the desire to extend his contract, used by many clubs including PSG with Kylian Mbappé this summer. Philippe Piat, president of the UNFP, explains this approach.
Why take up this file now?
PHILIPPE PIAT. At some point, things can’t go on any longer. We realize that in the world of football, no one cares. We alerted the old and new management of the Professional Football League, we contacted the former president of the French Football Federation (FFF) Noël Le Graët, held a sit-in at the FFF, demanded a audience with the Minister of Sports, etc. We can no longer digest the fact that clubs want to downsize and put players in lofts and that the LFP legal commission is unable to sanction this practice.
What do you expect from justice?
What we especially expect is that football leaders know they are doing something illegal, and that they risk being punished and convicted. It remains for them to see if they want to continue or change the way they operate. There, some treat players like financial assets.
Why are you not followed in your complaint by the players themselves?
Basically, I think the players agree that we should attack those who set up lofts. Now, many are afraid of finding themselves on a blacklist if they take legal action against the club that put them in this situation. We do it in a collegial manner so that they don’t have any sanctions. For our part, we think that when we no longer have any other solutions, we must go through justice. And that’s what we do.
How widespread is the phenomenon?
Today, 180 players are in lofts in France. Let us agree: an athlete knows that he must earn his place in this world and that sometimes he may or may not be accepted. But it’s not the same when you’re told that you’ll never be on the field, no matter what you do. And that if you don’t want to be transferred or break your contract, you won’t play anymore. The technical direction of the French Football Federation: 92% of matches are contested by 16 players. We want to limit the squad to 25 players, but the clubs don’t want to. For what ? This is for trading, and therefore buying and selling players.
The case of Kylian Mbappé shed light on this practice last summer…
Mbappé, it was the last straw. His case shows that all players can find themselves in this situation since it can even happen to the captain of the France team and best player in the world who is put under pressure to extend his contract.
