The press release is laconic. In four lines, Angers SCO announces this Wednesday the resignation of its president, Saïd Chabane, in office since 2011. The joy of the fans, who wanted to see the boss of a food company, owner of the club, leave for a long time. to 99%, will however only have been of short duration: before “take height”Saïd Chabane bequeathed his presidency to Romain Chabane, his own son.
“He puts his son so he can lead the club from the shadows. So no change to the SCO. You don’t change a losing team. Too bad for the club and the image of the city”, laments a supporter on social networks. Romain Chabane will be supported by a deputy chairman, Teddy Kefalas, who will “in charge of operational aspects” from April 1, completes the SCO in its press release.
For several months, the resignation of Saïd Chabane seemed inevitable. Many were surprised that it hadn’t happened sooner. At the beginning of March, the Ultras du Kop de la Butte 1992 denounced in a press release a president who “locked himself into his role as authoritarian president, firing staff who disagreed with his methods and placing characters as insufferable as they were incompetent in key positions, provided they were blindly loyal to him”.
Summoned to court in June
In addition to the club’s catastrophic sporting results – Angers is dead last in Ligue 1 and has not won a league match since September – its boss was indicted in February 2020 for sexual assault. In mid-December last, the public prosecutor of Angers, Eric Bouillard, also announced the referral to a criminal court of Saïd Chabane on June 14.
A total of six women have been identified as his potential victims. Aged 25 to 30, they all testified to similar facts, which would have occurred between 2014 and November 2019. Attempts to kiss them and touching their buttocks and chest. The victims were all employees of the company run by Saïd Chabane and describe a boss who used his power to put pressure on the victims.
“Four women working or having worked at the Angers football club were identified as potential victimsexplained in December the public prosecutor. Two other complainants, former employees of the Cosnelle group, led by the indicted, were identified during the judicial investigation. Saïd Chabane for his part denies the facts of which he is accused.