“I was then taken in a police vehicle, handcuffed like a criminal, to the airport. An ambulance arrived, but in a state of shock, I was unable to answer the paramedics’ questions. Shortly after , I heard on the police car radio: ‘He refused medical attention, everything is fine’ It was completely false, I asked them to take me in the ambulance with them, scared by it. what the police could do to me”he adds.
But his incredible misadventure was still far from over and the Belgian player spent several hours in detention: “Then I was placed in a gray room, without food or water, and left in a state of utter humiliation for several hours. When I was released, I learned that a police officer had filed a complaint against me for injuries allegedly caused during the arrest, while I was handcuffed. Furthermore, to date, I have not received any justification for my arrest.”
Still in shock, Stéphane Oméonga also wants to send a message against racism, unfortunately still too present in our society: “As a human being and a father, I cannot tolerate any form of discrimination. This arrest is just the tip of the iceberg. Many people who look like me can’t find work, don’t have access to housing, or can’t play the sports they love, simply because they are black.”
Trained in Anderlecht, Stéphane Oméonga left Belgium for Italy at the age of 20. He played for Avellino and Genoa who notably loaned him to Cercle Bruges in 2019. The player then joined Scotland where he played for Hibernian and Livingston before arriving in Israel, at Bnei Sakhnin, in the summer 2023.
A great hope for our football, the 28-year-old midfielder has eight caps with the Diablotins.
