former player Tony Vairelles sentenced to five years in prison, two of which are suspended for violence with a weapon

Former footballer Tony Vairelles was sentenced on Monday to five years in prison, two of which were suspended, by the Nancy court for having opened fire and injured three security guards at a nightclub in Essey-lès-Nancy (Meurthe-et- Moselle) in 2011 with his brothers Jimmy, Giovan and Fabrice. The three brothers of the RC Lens legend were sentenced to 3 to 5 years in prison.

Tony Vairelles has already completed five months of remand in 2012. Thanks to the remissions, he has less than a year left to serve and he could benefit from an adjustment. If he appeals this conviction, the former Lensois could also avoid detention for the duration of a new trial.

Fabrice, Jimmy, Giovan and Tony Vairelles responded to “violence in meetings, with premeditation and with a weapon” and risked up to ten years in prison and a 150,000 euro fine. Also accused of “violence in meetings with weapons”, the three security guards involved were for their part sentenced to suspended prison sentences.

A colorful striker with the famous “mule cup” passed through Lens, Lyon and Bordeaux, Tony Vairelles, now 49, was selected eight times for the France team, from 1998 to 2000. His lawyers had pleaded the nullity of the procedure, arguing the slowness of the investigation which saw four successive investigating judges in ten years, a request rejected by the court.