The Nantes criminal court on Monday released the former steward of FC Nantes who was implicated by the club after selling players’ shirts between January 2018 and September 2022. While the man was being prosecuted for breach of trust, the court considered that in the absence of clear regulations on the use of these jerseys within the club, “the capture of equipment” did not fall under “a criminal qualification”.
The bank accounts and the car that had been seized by the courts will be returned to him. “My client is extremely relieved because he believed since the beginning of this case that he had done nothing contrary to criminal law,” reacted his lawyer, Me Hugo Tran. “Justice was well done but my client was forced to change jobs and lived through eight months of anguish and uncertainty,” he added.
He was accused of having illegally resold the club’s professional player shirts for an estimated amount of 74,000 euros, according to the Ouest-France newspaper. During the hearing on June 19, the prosecution had requested up to eight months in prison suspended and a fine of 5,000 euros. Three other people prosecuted for concealment of property obtained with the help of a breach of trust have also been released.