Kenzo, suffering from brain cancer, was targeted by individuals on Saturday evening as he attended the sports meeting, wearing an OM jersey. The incident sparked many outraged reactions and an investigation was opened.
“Cruelty”, “absolute madness”, “scandalous assault”… Since Sunday, reactions have multiplied to denounce the attack suffered by Kenzo, 8, on the sidelines of the match of the last day of Ligue 1 between Ajaccio and Olympique de Marseille, Saturday June 3. Invited to the François-Coty stadium, in Corsica, to see his favorite club play, this young Marseille supporter suffering from brain cancer and his parents were taken to task “by individuals who have entered their lodge”, the Corsican club said in a statement. The President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron called for sanctions on Monday “clear” And “strong” against those responsible. Franceinfo summarizes what we know about this attack.
A sick child invited to realize his dream
Kenzo and his family live near Cassis (Bouches-du-Rhône). A supporter of OM, the child had expressed his dream of meeting the Olympian players during the visit, at the François-Coty stadium, of the association Des coccinelles rouges pour Thomas, of which Kenzo is a member and which aims to improve the conditions of hospitalization of children with cancer. “We came here on vacation with the association and several children in April. The Corsicans had been wonderful and had received us like kings. He didn’t want to leave anymore. It was important to him to come back and support OM”tell the Parisian (article for subscribers) Sabine Matina, the president of the association.
A wish granted thanks to the president of Air Corsica, Marie-Hélène Casanova-Servas, and the president of Rotary Parata, Sandra Peraldi, reports Corsica Morning. “I stayed in touch with this little boy. His life is OM. So when he asked me to help him see the match in Ajaccio, I did what was necessary”traces the president of Rotary to the daily.
Kenzo attacked because of his jersey
Dressed in the colors of OM, Kenzo puts on, on his arrival at the stadium, other clothes lent by the president of Rotary “so that he can enter the stadium calmly with all the tension of recent days”justifies the president in Corse-Morning. On the eve of the game, incidents between supporters had taken place.
The child and his parents sit in the cabin belonging to the airline, which overlooks the grandstand. Once installed, Kenzo puts on his Marseille club jersey and watches the players enter the pitch. At the same time, Ajaccio supporters saw him “and everything went wrong”assures his mother in Corse-Morning. “They shouted: ‘The son of a bitch, he has the OM jersey, we have to fuck himspecifies Amandine at the microphone of France Bleu Provence. I said to them, ‘Are you talking about my son? You’re kidding, he’s an 8-year-old child, he has cancer!'”.
Still according to Kenzo’s mother, the individuals then enter the lodge. “IThey walked on me, they passed, there were fifteen of them so I couldn’t do anything. They went up (…), they put two punches in the face of my husbandshe continues on France Bleu Provence. They pushed my son so he fell and hit his whole face on the iron bar of the seat.” According to his testimony, these supporters tear off the shirts and then burn them, dropping: “Vthere, we burned you, son of a bitch.” “We found him sobbing, shaking, I was really very, very afraid for him”adds Laurent, Kenzo’s father, also at the microphone of France Bleu Provence. “He lost confidence, he is very scared, it really traumatized him”he adds.
AC Ajaccio condemns, Corsican supporters deny the parents’ version
The Corsican club reacted and strongly denounced the events in a press release: “The dream quickly turned into a nightmare when Kenzo and his parents, who came in the colors of Olympique de Marseille, were shamefully abused by individuals who broke into their dressing room.” The president of AC Ajaccio, Alain Orsoni, also condemned “with the greatest firmness”on franceinfo Sunday, the “absolute madness” aggressors. “I apologize on behalf of the club to the mum and dad and the little boy”he continued, recalling that Kenzo and his parents were able, after the meeting, “approach the locker room” to see the players up close.
In Corse-Morningthe president of the group of supporters Orsi Ribelli, him, disputed details of the story of the parents, while confirming others. “It was the father who was wearing the OM jersey and who was taunting the supporters underneath. So indeed, a few people seated in the Faedda stand came up, punched the father twice to make him take off the jersey before come down with the outfit. One hundred people in the stands are able to testify to this. The Orsi Ribelli group intends to clarify the situation”, said Lisandru Leca.
Indignant reactions in the world of sport and the political class
Since Sunday, voices from the world of sport and the political class have been rising. Emmanuel Macron demanded on Monday the “clearest penalties” And “strong” against Kenzo’s attackers. “It shows a kind of drift and we are right not to get used to it”, declared the President of the Republic to the press during a trip to Mont-Saint-Michel (Manche), promising to “continue to be at the side of the family also so that he can recover from this trauma”.
Jean-Michel Aulas, honorary president of Olympique Lyonnais, said to himself “horrified”, Monday on franceinfo, lamenting a “effect of cruelty that is generated through these matches. These people must realize that by hurting a sick child like this, we are drawing attention to all of football in an abject way.” The mayor of Marseille, Benoît Payan, also commented on the case on Twitter: “There are no words to describe this outrageous assault. Strength to you Kenzo and to your family.”
The mayor of Ajaccio, Stéphane Sbraggia, also expressed on Twitter his indignation at this “gratuitous and scandalous aggression”. The Minister of Sports spoke on the phone Monday morning with Kenzo’s family, franceinfo learned. Amélia Oudéa-Castéra had already reacted to the microphone of BFMTV: “I think extremely strongly of him, his mum Amandine, his dad, who were victims of this absolutely intolerable violence (…) These events are unacceptable. The reaction of the Ajaccio club was good in denouncing the horror of this gesture: this little boy who loses his sight and who wanted to see a beautiful show. All that, we must relegate him very far from us, and very far from sport.
An investigation opened by the courts
After the opening of an investigation for “aggravated violence and aggravated theft” following the attack by Marseille supporters of a journalist from France 3 Corse Via Stella, the public prosecutor of Ajaccio, Nicolas Septe, opened another investigation on Sunday for violence in assembly for the aggression of Kenzo and his family. “We asked that all means be used to identify the perpetrators of these unspeakable facts as soon as possible”he explained to AFP.
The investigation will be able to rely on the collaboration of the Corsican club. “We have images, we will give them to the police, file a complaint in due form. We will take sanctions at our level”specified Alain Orsoni, the president of the Corsican club, who added that the “hooligans who engaged in this assault ser[aie]nt banned from stadium for life”.