Paris prosecutor investigates alleged acts of discrimination in PSG recruitment

The Paris prosecutor’s office is investigating years of alleged discrimination by Paris Saint-Germain. This is after the French Human Rights League filed a complaint claiming that the club’s scouts were illegally tagging potential recruits based on their origin.

Prosecutors told The Associated Press they reopened the investigation in May. The case relates to events that happened several years ago and was part of an original investigation that ended in August 2022. The Human Rights League confirmed to the AP that they filed the lawsuit.

The prosecutor’s office indicated that they received the complaint “for discrimination based on origin and that they had stored computer information revealing racial and ethnic origins. “

French laws prohibit the collection of personal information revealing the racial and ethnic origins of individuals.

PSG previously admitted to using forms with illegal content between 2013 and 2018. But they denied responsibility for enforcing the policy after news site Mediapart reported that the team asked their scouts refer to the origin of potential employers in four categories: “Francais” (French). ), “Maghrebin” (North Africa), “Antillais” (Antillean), and “Afrique noire” (Black African).

The previous investigation began after the Human Rights League filed a complaint following an internal PSG investigation that concluded “there was no proven reason for discrimination.”

The French Football Federation’s ethics board also investigated the situation and the disciplinary commission fined PSG 100,000 euros ($109,000).

The league also handed PSG’s former academy director Bertrand Reuzeau a suspended fine of €10,000. While Marc Westerloppe and Pierre Reynaud, who were responsible for recruiting the team, received a suspended fine of 5,000 euros.

Mediapart and the television program “Envoyé Special” highlighted the neglect of young black players, Mediapart confirmed that 17-year-old midfielder Yann Gboho, who played for France in the U-18, was quit with PSG when he was 13 years old and the club leadership decided to cover “those involved in the scandal”.

In another case of racism in 2011, French football was hit by further strong revelations from Mediapart, which said coach Laurent Blanc and others informally discussed quotas to increase the number of young black players. Arabs were involved in restricting the election.