Angers coach Bouhazama defends Chetti player accused of rape and then resigns – Corriere.it

His first experience in League 1 he imagined it different. Abdel Bouhazamafor almost ten years in charge of the youth sector of theAngers, in November he had been promoted to coach of the first team with the aim of lifting them from the red zone of the table and taking them towards safety. It didn’t exactly go like this, because in 11 games they have lost nine drawing two. Zero successes and very last place (10 points in 26 days). The last game, then, was a disaster. In the field (5-0 knockout against Montpellier) and in the moments immediately preceding kick-off, when in the locker room he justified the presence of defender Ilyes Chetti to the team, struggling with a trial for sexual harassment against a girl, with an unfortunate sentence that reached the press: «There’s nothing wrong with that, we’ve all touched a woman». Hence the fierce controversies and the step back by the coach who, after the latest defeat, has decided to resign.

Even the president accused of sexual assault

An inevitable choice: “In the face of media pressure and to preserve the club’s image and the serenity of the dressing room,” reads the press release, with the management specifying that they have taken note of the coach’s decision. For the next match, scheduled for Sunday against Toulouse, assistant Alexandre Dujeux will be on the bench . The club has revealed that the 54-year-old coach had been maturing the idea of ​​resigning since the end of February, a decision that was accelerated by the controversy that arose following the sentences pronounced before the match against Montpellier: «To remove any ambiguity and misunderstanding, Angers unreservedly condemns the words spoken by the person concerned. The club does not accept any form of discrimination and condemns sexism and misogyny.” An observation the latter that made more than someone smile considering that the president himself, Saïd Chabane, has been on trial since 2020 for aggravated sexual violence against six women who were his employees at the material time.

Bouhazama had been accused of ill-treatment

Abdel Bouhazama, almost an institution within the Angers world, during his time as head of the youth academy he had been accused of mistreating the club’s young players. According to the allegations he humiliated, intimidated and threatened them thus concocting a sort of “terror management”. Several former academy players, such as Pierre Freuchet and Joseph Séry, testified explicitly against him.