The prosecutor’s office in Paris is currently looking into claims of discrimination involving Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), sparked by allegations that the club’s scouts improperly profiled potential players based on their ethnic backgrounds.
The investigation was reactivated in May, according to prosecutors. This case pertains to incidents that occurred several years ago and follows a previous investigation which was closed in August 2022.
Officials from the prosecutor’s office indicated they received a new complaint regarding discrimination based on origin and the unlawful storage of data that reflects racial or ethnic backgrounds.
Under French law, it is illegal to gather personal data that reveals an individual’s racial or ethnic origin.
PSG has admitted that between 2013 and 2018, documents containing illegal content were utilized, but the club distanced itself from the enforcement of such a practice. Reports from the Mediapart news outlet revealed that PSG instructed its scouts to categorize potential recruits’ origins into four distinct groups: “Francais” (French), “Maghrebin” (North African), “Antillais” (West Indian), and “Afrique noire” (Black African).
The earlier investigation originated from a complaint filed by France’s League of Human Rights, despite PSG asserting that their internal review found “no proven case of discrimination.”
The ethics council of the French Football Federation also examined the situation, leading to a fine of 100,000 euros (approximately $109,000) imposed on PSG by the league’s disciplinary body. Additionally, there was a suspended fine of 10,000 euros against former PSG academy director Bertrand Reuzeau, while Marc Westerloppe and Pierre Reynaud, who were responsible for PSG’s recruitment, faced suspended fines of 5,000 euros each.
Both Mediapart and the French television program “Envoyé Special” reported on a particular incident where a young black player was overlooked by PSG due to the color of his skin. An investigation into “Football Leaks” documents indicated that 17-year-old midfielder Yann Gboho, a player for France’s Under-18 team, was disregarded by PSG when he was just 13 years old, as club management allegedly sought to shield those involved in the controversy.
In a related discrimination incident from 2011, the French soccer community was shaken by revelations from Mediapart that the then-national coach, Laurent Blanc, and others had discussed informal quotas that limited the participation of black and Arab youth players in the national team’s roster.