Olympique Lyonnais was ordered by the Lyon judicial court to pay 3,500 euros in damages to a former young player who believes she suffered sexual discrimination during her training, according to a decision consulted by AFP on Friday. The club must pay 3,000 euros for moral damage to the young woman, now aged 21, and 500 euros for “damage resulting from a loss of opportunity”, that is to say a possibility of a career as a footballer even though she was fired in 2018 after only one year with the club.
“The alleged discrimination” was deemed “established” by the court due to the absence of “a training agreement” for the player aged 15 when she joined OL in 2017, a document which provides guarantees , particularly in the event of termination at the initiative of the club, otherwise “reserved for boys”, according to the courts. The establishment of standard training agreements for the women’s sector was approved by decree on June 19 and the creation of a professional women’s football league must be effective from July 1, 2024.
Taking note of the court’s decision, the club said it was “surprised” and stressed that, moreover, the court “recognizes equal treatment within Olympique Lyonnais in the training of boys and girls” . This decision by the Lyon court “will change the lives of many people,” the lawyer for the former OL recruit, Me Slim Ben Achour, told AFP. For his part, he notes that “the court does not draw conclusions from its finding of discrimination” due to the low compensation awarded to his client. She originally requested more than two million euros in compensation.
The young woman, a Strasbourg native spotted while playing in Germany, joined the U19 women’s team in 2017 to train at OL, among the best women’s football clubs in the world. Once nicknamed “little Messi”, she was fired a few days after revealing sexual assault by a trainer, Yohan Desbos, who has since been sentenced to six months in prison.
