Two 20-year-old men were taken into custody after reporting to the Ajaccio police station on Monday, in the investigation into the attack on little Kenzo and his family on the sidelines of the match between AC Ajaccio and Marseille , June 3, we learned from the prosecution.
“Two young men aged 20, one known to the courts, in particular for acts of violence, and the other unknown, were taken into custody at 2:30 p.m. after presenting themselves without a lawyer at the police station of Ajaccio “, indicated to Agence France-Presse (AFP) the parquet floor of Ajaccio, confirming information from Corse-Matin.
These two people “deny having exercised physical violence against Kenzo’s father and Kenzo himself”, said the public prosecutor of Ajaccio, Nicolas Septe, in a statement, stressing that “their statements will still have to be confronted with the elements reported by the flagrance investigation”.
Kenzo, an 8-year-old Olympique de Marseille supporter suffering from brain cancer, was invited to Corsica on June 3 to fulfill his “dream” of meeting players from the Ligue 1 football club. While he was in a box at the stadium with his father and his brother, individuals had burst in and hit the father of the family before leaving with his OM jersey, according to the first elements of the investigation.
Other protagonists wanted
The precise sequence of events is the subject of divergent versions, AC Ajaccio having first of all denounced the following day “unspeakable acts” by assuring that “Kenzo and his parents” had “been shamefully abused by individuals who are ushered into their dressing room,” before returning to his version of events a few days later. In a new press release, the president of the club, Alain Orsoni, had then affirmed, after having viewed the video surveillance images, that “the seriousness of the actions of certain Ajaccien supporters, moreover reprehensible, (had) been very clearly exaggerated”.
Amandine, Kenzo’s mother, told AFP that the individuals had entered the dressing room, pushing the child: “He fell, he hit the side of his face on the bar of the seat and the balcony. And my husband was right behind, they said to him “give us your shirt”. He took his shirt off, they punched him twice in the head.” An investigation was opened for “violence in assembly” in order to shed light on these facts. “Other protagonists are still actively sought”, adds the press release from the prosecution.
This affair aroused great emotion and reactions, including the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, who called for “clear and strong” sanctions. The Professional Football League (LFP) and AC Ajaccio have filed a complaint. A journalist from France 3 ViaStella was also attacked on the sidelines of this match counting for the last day of the Ligue 1 season.
