In Colomiers, near Toulouse, the cars of two Football instructors were targeted by arson.
The culprit(s) could be parents of young players.
One of the two coaches agreed to testify in the TF1 news.
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He is still in shock. On the night of October 28 to 29, this under-11 football instructor at US Colomiers, in Haute-Garonne, saw his car burn right in front of his home. He testifies anonymously to TF1: “The vehicle was parked on the edge of the fence. There is still the smell. There is absolutely nothing left”he shows in the report to be found at the top of this article, with supporting photos. When he takes these few photos in the middle of the night, he thinks of an isolated act. But an hour later, he learned that another coach had also been the victim of an attack.
The culprit(s) could be parents of players. “We knew that there are unhappy parents, that we can sometimes have verbal altercations, it happens. In these cases, there is a process, but I didn’t think it would come to that” , he assures. Fortunately, firefighters arrived in time, preventing the flames from spreading to the property. But the vehicle was completely destroyed. “If I had been parked 10 meters away, it could have spread to the house. We have children, we have families, it could have been dramatic”he says.
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His colleague was not so lucky; his accommodation was also targeted by the perpetrators. Faced with such acts of unprecedented violence, the inhabitants of the town are revolted. “I am outraged and I find it a climate of terror,” denounces a retiree. While a father believes that “the face of football has changed in recent years”. “We didn’t see this kind of thing at all before”he adds.
An observation shared by the club's leaders, because the potential cause of this outburst of anger would be the simple selection of certain children in the number 1 team. “We have nevertheless reached a rare level of violence. The place of football today is becoming too important in certain families, and indeed it creates frustration when we do not play in the first team,” explains Patrice Morel, director of the US Colomiers football club.
These attacks are becoming more and more frequent in the world of amateur football, particularly in Paris and Nice. As a sign of support, the club has decided to suspend its activity until November 11. No matches are planned this weekend either for all fans of the department.
