ex-president of Losc Gérard Lopez sentenced to 10 months suspended prison sentence and 45,000 euros fine

The former president of Losc was convicted of complicity in the illegal exercise of the activity of sports agent on Wednesday in Lille.

His sentence has fallen. The former president of Losc Gérard Lopez, prosecuted for complicity in the illegal exercise of the activity of sports agent, was sentenced Wednesday, November 13 in Lille, to 10 months of suspended imprisonment and a fine of 45,000 euros. . The former president of the Lille club between 2017 and 2020, and current owner of the Girondins de Bordeaux, relegated to N2, Gérard Lopez, appeared before the Lille Criminal Court for prior admission of guilt (CRPC). He was recognized “accomplice to the crime of illegal exercise of the activity of sports agent”, indicates a judgment from the Lille court of which AFP had a copy, confirming information from L’Equipe.

The facts date back to 2017-2018. Justice accused Gérard Lopez of having committed an offense “by mandating” a third party, Karim Saada, who was not licensed as a sports agent “in return for remuneration to maintain close relations with the player’s official agent, to intercede between this agent and the president of Losc in a paid manner”, the court order states. Gérard Lopez was prosecuted for “complicity in illegal exercise” in particular in the context of the recruitment of Serbian player Arton Zejak for Losc.

Karim Saada, 50, also appeared before the CRPC. Found guilty of “illegal exercise of the activity of sports agent without a valid license”, in the context of the recruitment of the Serbian player, he was sentenced to 10 months in prison and a fine of 5,000 euros. He is also banned from working as a sports agent for five years. Karim Saada, who had received 34,000 euros, according to L’Equipe, also saw this sum confiscated. “We are satisfied today with the agreement reached with the Lille prosecutor definitively putting an end to the procedure” carried out against Gérard Lopez, “and leading to a sentence with limited consequences”, indicated Gérard Lopez’s lawyer, Me Pierre de Combles de Nayves.

The French Football Federation (FFF) and Losc were both civil parties in this case. Me Bertrand Wambeke, one of Losc’s lawyers, considered that it was “entirely desirable that Gérard Lopez and Karim Saada admit their guilt in this affair”, noting that the elements “were damning about the fact that there was occult agent activity and then funding from the other side“. While the FFF had requested one euro in damages and a sum for procedural costs, Losc requested the referral of the file in order to determine whether the club “was harmed financially”. A hearing is scheduled for January 27.