Judged in Toulouse on November 17 for acts of harassment of 7 young girls from the Blagnac hope center team, Gaëlle Dumas did not express the slightest regret before the criminal court. The prosecutor requested a suspended prison sentence of 6 to 12 months. Judgment expected on February 1, 2023.
“You’re fat, impossible to play sports in this state.” “Looks like you’re sick, how can you show yourself?” “You are a serpent, you are a viper.“
Mockery, humiliation in front of the group, repeated inappropriate remarks, the acts of harassment alleged against the former head of the Toulouse Blagnac women’s football hope center were denounced by anonymous letter to the Public Prosecutor’s Office in March 2022.
And this November 17 none of the seven victims is present at the hearing, the court regrets it. “It was a particularly difficult moment that they dreaded“explains their lawyer, Maître Eric Lasserre, also representing the Occitanie Football League.
The young players are not the only ones to denounce the words and behavior of Gaëlle Dumas. Valentin Grenier, his deputy, was also the victim of harassment from the former TFC player. He evokes a “nobody, tyrannical, manipulative, lunatic“.
And the two physiotherapists of the female hope center evoke a heavy climate.
My behavior cannot be changed
At the helm, the former TFC player in charge of Blagnac’s hope pole shows no regrets: “I am a demanding person and I am quite frank. I say things as I feel them. There is no will to hurt. We are in a high level structure. I am there to accompany them to reach the top level. If they didn’t take it that way, I’m sorry, but my mode of operation is not to be changed.“
“It is extremely shocking. Madame Dumas is in full denial in the face of the 30 testimonies of people who all say the same thing“comments Eric Lasserre, lawyer for young girls and the league.
For the public prosecutor, Gaëlle Dumas is indeed responsible in this file but not of everything: “eShe didn’t have the real skills to perform her job.says the public prosecutor. She fed on a high-level requirement without really knowing the drivers of it.“
For the public prosecutor, Gaelle Dumas belongs to a generation for which requirement must rhyme with suffering, while requirement should rather rhyme with trust.
“They are young people in formation who need to have self-confidence. You cannot build self-esteem with the culture of the “victorious warrior” who thinks that to win, to succeed, you have to suffer. With Madame Dumas, to cause suffering is to do good.“
The prosecutor requested a suspended prison sentence of 6 to 12 months accompanied by two probationary years, with a ban on appearing and carrying out an educational activity for young people.
Judgment was reserved for February 1, 2023.
