Will we see Hatem Ben Arfa one day on a Ligue 1 lawn? The question arises after the disciplinary procedure launched against the Losc player by his club on Friday. The 35-year-old former French international had a heated argument with his teammate Tiago Djalo and then with his coach Jocelyn Gourvennec last weekend, following Lille’s draw against Bordeaux. The latest in a long series of extra-sporting stunts, which have continued to mark the midfielder’s career.
“A la clairefontaine”: the first clash
The tumultuous story of Hatem Ben Arfa begins at an early age. Central character of the series “A la clairefontaine”, which retraces the career of young footballers trained at INF Clairefontaine, Hatem Ben Arfa, then barely 13 years old, stood out in particular for a clash with the midfielder Abu Diaby. The two young people exchange many insults, before being separated by other teammates. A moment that remained in the legend of the documentary, and which followed the two players, as recognized by Abou Diaby for Transversales in 2017: “It’s a shame, because me like him, it didn’t serve us. It sent back a bad image, but Hatem and I were extremely close.
In Lyon: small bridge and fight
In March 2008, during pre-match training against FC Sochaux Montbéliard in the Coupe de France, Ben Arfa attacked his teammate Sébastien Squillaci. The dribbler makes a small bridge to the defender, before insulting him. At the end of the session, Squilacci would have asked him to repeat what he had said, and Ben Arfa would have executed, before the two men came to blows. Years later, former OL goalkeeper Rémi Vercoutre told this story in detail to L’Equipe: “Toto came into the locker room very angry, he took his phone to chat with his brother, try to calm down. . Hatem landed and put two pennies back into the music! And there, Toto put Hatem in the closet. He split it in two, as it should. It was brutal”.
OM: Refusal to come into play and clash with the coach
From his beginnings in Marseille, Hatem Ben Arfa falls back into his behavioral faults. During a match at the top between Olympique de Marseille and PSG, the OM coach at the time, Eric Gerets, did not establish him. While he wants to bring the young player in at half-time, he refuses to warm up and therefore to come into play. An episode that he will choose to tell in a humorous and lively way during his visit to the PSG in 2016.
In Marseille, the setbacks of Hatem Ben Arfa then continued with the new coach, Didier Deschamps. “You break my balls”, would have one day launched the player to the current coach of the Blues. Arrived at the Commanderie in 2008, the former Lyonnais will never have really succeeded in establishing himself in the Marseille city.
Newcastle: fired after a clash with his coach Alan Pardew
In April 2014, after a major deterioration in relations between Hatem Ben Arfa and his coach at Newcastle Alan Pardew, the latter decided to fire him from the club. In conflict for many months with his leaders, the midfielder would have had an altercation with the English technician, the stroke of blood too much. According to a club official, who spoke after this episode for the Daily Mail, “Alan Pardew and his team have put all their spirit into finding a solution. But they had to come to terms with the decision they thought was right for the club and the rest of the first team.” And to add: “Everyone knows what an excellent player Ben Arfa can be, but this season has been so negative, safe and off the pitch, that it had a negative effect on the rest of the team. And indeed, since he returned to France, things have improved considerably for the team.
With the Blues: Phone call in the locker room and heavy criticism
Following a defeat of the France team against Sweden in the group stage of Euro 2012, Hatem Ben Arfa, had telephoned in the middle of the locker room of the Blues. Called to order by coach Laurent Blanc, the player, then in Newcastle, then repeated the criticism of the coach’s choices. Released in the 59th by his coach, Ben Arfa had notably specified that there was “more zero” than him on the ground, but had not come to insults.
PSG: two years of ordeal
Arrived at PSG at the end of a full season with Nice, Hatem Ben Arfa will never have really been part of the plans of the coaches of the Parisian club. Determined to prove his worth and to play, Ben Arfa was quickly annoyed and the situation became significantly complicated following a tense exchange dating from April 2017 between Ben Arfa and Al-Khelaïfi in the presence of the Emir of Qatar.
Subsequently, another dispute, economic this time, will arise between the two parties. Dismissed from the professional group for more than a year, from April 2017 to the end of his contract in July 2018, “HBA” believes that he is the victim of a disguised fine, and thrown out to avoid touching premiums. The case will end at the Prud’hommes. While claiming 7.7 million euros from the club, the player will finally be dismissed from all his requests. PSG has always maintained that the sidelining of the player was purely sporting.
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