French Montrouge Player, 13, Suffers Broken Nose in Violent Assault at Portugal Tournament After Defending Teammate from Racism
Armand, a 13-year-old player from French club Montrouge, was subjected to a violent assault during an international football tournament in Portugal. The incident occurred after he intervened to defend a teammate who had been targeted with racist insults.
According to French newspaper Le Parisien, the events, which took place days ago in Porto, Portugal, turned a celebratory atmosphere into a nightmare. The player, who was participating in the tournament with the Paris Saint-Germain Academy – a private entity independent of the Parisian club – suffered a severe attack from other participants in the U15 international tournament.
The same source explained that some young players from the 'PSG' academy were subjected to racist insults and monkey chants from a rival team and even some parents.
The young player, registered with Montrouge for the season, intervened to defend his teammates, which led to him being assaulted. He was subsequently taken to a hospital in Porto, where initial examinations revealed a broken nose as a result of the blows to his face.
“We love football, but we have never witnessed racism like this before. He wanted to protect his friend, and he ended up in the emergency room; all the children are traumatized,” the player’s mother told the Unifoot website.
Montrouge FC, through its social media accounts, expressed its support for its young player, his family, and all young players affected by the situation. The club conveyed its “deepest dismay and condemned in the strongest terms the acts of racism and violence that occurred during the international tournament.”
In its statement, accompanied by a photo of Armand, the club stated: “Our young player Armand, who bravely defended a teammate subjected to racist remarks and monkey chants, was assaulted and hospitalized following this incident.” It added: “These events are extremely shocking and contradict the fundamental values of sport, respect, and living together that we champion daily within our club.”
