Football: postponement of the deliberations in the trial of Saïd Chabane owner of the SCO of Angers

The decision of the criminal court in the trial of Saïd Chabane, former president and current owner of the Angers football club (L2) tried for sexual assault, will finally be rendered on March 22, we learned Thursday from lawyers of the defense and the civil party.

The deliberations, initially expected on Friday, were postponed "due to unavailability" of the president, Me Guillaume Sergent, lawyer for one of the complainants, told AFP.

Contacted by AFP, the prosecution did not respond immediately. In mid-December, the prosecution requested three years in prison, including one year suspended against Saïd Chabane, accused of sexual assault by seven women.

Employees of the SCO of Angers or of Mr. Chabane's charcuterie company at the time of the events, they denounce actions spanning from 2014 to 2019. The defendant, tried for sexual assault "committed by a person abusing the "authority conferred on him by his function", denied during the trial all the facts with which he was accused. His lawyers pleaded for acquittal.

Entangled in a succession of affairs and a catastrophic sporting situation, Saïd Chabane gave up his place as president of the club to his son Romain in March.

Relegated at the end of the 2022/2023 season which was one of the worst ever recorded by a club in the French elite, and marked by the departure of coach Abdel Bouhazama after sexist remarks in the locker room, the SCO has straightened out the head. He is second in the Ligue 2 standings after 24 days, a position which would allow his return to Ligue 1 at the end of the season.