Former footballer Tony Vairelles sentenced to 18 months in prison, but avoids prison

Former international footballer Tony Vairelles was sentenced Thursday to 18 months in prison by the Nancy Court of Appeal for violence at the exit of a nightclub in 2011, a sentence which can however be adjusted and will avoid him prison .

The 50-year-old former Blues striker was on trial with three of his brothers for shooting at nightclub security guards in Essey-les-Nancy (Meurthe-et-Moselle) in October 2011. He was sentenced to 36 months in prison, including 18 months suspended, a sentence reduced by half compared to the first instance where he had been sentenced to three years.

His brother Fabrice was sentenced to the same sentence, his two younger brothers Giovan and Jimmy receiving 18 months in prison, including 12 months suspended. They too will be able to arrange the firm part of their sentence. Incarcerated for five months at the start of the investigation, Tony Vairelles has always claimed his innocence as well as that of his brothers.

According to their version, the two young brothers had been expelled from the nightclub, abused by three security guards. They then returned to the scene with their two eldest, Tony and Fabrice. Shots were fired by a "mysterious shooter" according to the version of the family, whose prosecutor had noted the "clan operation". The guards claimed for their part to have identified Tony Vairelles as the shooter.

The three security guards were sentenced: one to six months suspended and two to eight months suspended for the violence against the two youngest Vairelles brothers. In 2022, Tony Vairelles returned to this affair in an autobiographical book, "Balls in the center". The former striker was selected eight times for the France team between 1998 and 2000. Famous for his "mule cut", he had passed through Lens, Lyon, Bordeaux, Bastia and Gueugnon.