After more than two years of investigation, the Marseille Criminal Court on Monday December 16 convicted eight players in the world of Football for organized gang fraud, illegal exercise of the profession of sports agent and money laundering. Among them is John Valovic-Galtier, adopted son of Christophe Galtier, the former coach of OGC Nice and PSG, now gone to coach in the Qatari championship.
Not holding a professional player agent card, but at the head of a company called Player Agency, John Valovic-Galtier received a two-year suspended prison sentence and a fine of 300,000 euros. He is also ineligible for five years. Similarly, David Venditelli, former manager of Alexandre Lacazette and head of the company Score Agencies, was sentenced to a one-year suspended prison sentence and a fine of 200,000 euros.
Mr. Venditelli’s company and that of Mr. Valovic-Galtier were based, according to the court, on an irregular model: on the one hand an advisor who did not hold a professional card carried out the procedures leading to the conclusion of a contract of transfer thanks to his network or his professional experience, from the other official players’ agents but “inactive” in the negotiations and only intervening when the transfer is signed.
These different actors have circumvented “with a certain bad faith” the law governing the activity of sports agent, according to the court. The latter thus sentenced Alexandre Bonnefond to one year in prison suspended and 50,000 euros, Tristan Sauzon to six months suspended and a fine of 5,000 euros and David Wantier to three months in prison suspended and 5,000 euros fine. . The first two are banned from professional practice, for five years and one year respectively.
The judgment also concerns leaders, including the president of Toulouse Football Club, Damien Comolli and Emmanuel Desplats, general director of Dijon (National), sentenced to fines of 30,000 euros and 10,000 euros respectively.
Read also | Article reserved for our subscribers Football: transfer market specialists on X, influencers scrutinized and criticized
Read later
These convictions constitute the culmination of an investigation opened in March 2022, which had as its starting point suspicions expressed by players’ agent Jean-Pierre Bernès, on the transfer of striker Andy Delort from Montpellier to Nice, in October 2021.
Civil parties, the Professional Football League and the French Football Federation are awarded a symbolic euro in compensation for their moral damage, “these offenses have the effect of betraying the trust that these regulatory bodies place in sports agents”. Valovic-Galtier’s defense announced that they would appeal this decision.
Related News :