Two lawyers representing victims of sexual violence, Sophie Benayoun and Myriam Guedj, together with 70 other signatories, have called for greater scrutiny of sexual abuse in French football in an opinion article published by Le Monde.
The authors say sexual predators in French football have victimised several hundred children. They describe a recurring pattern of cursory investigations, cases repeatedly dismissed without further action, reports archived without proper processing or national cross-checking, weak independent oversight and shortcomings in checking the backgrounds of adults working with young players.
They also accuse institutions of silencing children and isolating whistleblowers. The cases involving former coaches Eric Olhats and Ahmed Gueninèche are presented as examples of wider systemic failures affecting football and society more broadly.
The signatories question the handling of investigations when officials have links to the clubs involved, as well as the absence of suitable protocols when victims are interviewed. They also criticise changes to French Football Federation regulations following scandals, arguing that the reforms reduced their scope.
The article specifically attacks the FFF’s “J’alerte” reporting platform, claiming that reports can be archived without effective follow-up, national cross-checking or systematic transmission to judicial authorities. The authors also point to the absence of a map of alleged predators and deficiencies in monitoring repeat offenders.
They argue that protecting clubs and the federation’s reputation has taken priority over protecting children, and call for these institutional shortcomings to end immediately. The published text continues beyond the available excerpt under subscriber access.
Sources: Le Monde Sport.