Three AC Ajaccio supporters were sentenced Friday to 12 months in prison and banned from attending sporting events for three years for the attack on eight-year-old Kenzo, a Marseille fan suffering from cancer, and from his family. During the trial, the three defendants aged 20 admitted to having entered the box where Kenzo’s family was during the match between the Corsican football club and Olympique de Marseille on June 3 in Ajaccio, to recover the jersey of the OM that the father wore but they denied any violence.
In addition to the suspended prison sentence and the ban on attending sporting events, the court sentenced the defendant considered to have played “the main role” by entering first and carrying out blows, which he denies, to a fine of 1,000 euros. The other two were fined 500 euros.
“Psychiatric expertise” for Kenzo and his brother
At the hearing on August 25, the prosecutor had requested 18 months’ imprisonment, including 12 suspended, a fine of 1,500 euros and a five-year stadium ban against the main defendant. Against the other two, he requested a 12-month suspended prison sentence, a 1,000 euro fine and a five-year stadium ban. The three supporters were also ordered to pay one euro each to the AC Ajaccio club and the Professional Football League (LFP), both civil parties, as well as legal costs.
The court ordered “a psychiatric assessment” for little Kenzo, suffering from brain cancer, and his brother, and sentenced the three supporters to pay 1,500 euros in provisional compensation, referring to a civil hearing on March 6, 2024 parents’ claims for compensation.
“The court, rightly, condemned these young people for all the harm suffered by our clients who are above all satisfied that the court understood that violence was committed as much on the children as on themselves,” declared Me Frédéric Pourrière, lawyer for the family of little Kenzo.
“What the psychologist and psychiatrist experts say is that there was a big impact on the lives of these children who are still very affected today by June 3,” he added. Kenzo had been invited to Corsica to realize his “dream” of meeting players from the Marseille Ligue 1 club. The affair had sparked strong reactions, including President Emmanuel Macron, calling for “clear and strong” sanctions.