We just had to mention Paris Saint-Germain To customs officials at Charles de Gaulle Airport to spark a lively discussion. The three men gathered behind the counter rarely entering the Paris Saint-Germain women’s team. But it’s different this time.

Last week, Paris Saint-Germain player Khaira El Hamraoui qualified Victim of a violent ambush. According to information collected by several French media, she was returning from a party organized by the club. She was in the car with colleague Aminata Diallo when masked men, not Diallo, attacked her. She was hit by an iron rod, and she sustained severe injuries to both of her legs.

Last Wednesday, Diallo was arrested in this case, before it was finally done Thursday released.

The day before her arrest, she had just taken El Hamraoui’s place on the field in the Champions League match against Real Madrid, a match which she won 4-0. Then it was an excuse that Khaira Hamrawi had to be absent from that Personal reasons.

This story had the effect of a bombshell in the football world. Olympique Lyonnais coach Sonia Bombastor was shocked when she heard the news.

I’m still a little surprised by this information. Even among boys, we’ve never seen such a precedent before. This is necessarily a negative thing for women’s footballShe said before the release of Diallo.

Many have linked this story to the Harding-Kerigan affair, which rocked the figure skating world before the 1994 Olympics. We will remember that Nancy Kerrigan was assaulted at the iron bar, an attack orchestrated by “Tonia Harding’s entourage, and then one of her competitors.”

Donia Mesli is a journalist at football hearts, the media specializing in women’s football in France, believes that this situation is not related. If Hamraoui and Diallo, who are good friends off the field, are already playing in the same position, they have completely different profiles.

El Hamraoui emphasizes that she is a player who likes to pass between lines or hit from afar, which creates a gap. It is long, so it can catch and return the first balloons. For his part, Diallo is a bit more technical and seeks to dominate the game towards the track players or get into the penalty area to make a difference. They are somewhat complementary in my opinion.

Khaira Hamraoui and Aminata Diallo in the French national team

Photo: afp via getty Images / FRANCK FIFE

Some will say: Talk about it well, talk about it poorly, but talk about it. It is true that the French D1 woman and women’s sport in general invite more visibility and media coverage. And for good reason.

The defect is still very real. A study published by the University of Southern California (A new window) Last March showed that women’s sport was severely underrepresented on television and news sites. According to this post, 95% of TV coverage was devoted to men’s sports in 2019. We analyzed a sample of newsletters and posts posted on Twitter daily, and only about 10% of the content is for women.

However, this club Publicity, PSG could have done well.

He plays three matches a week, including two in the Champions League against Real Madrid. On Sunday, Paris Saint-Germain will face their main rival, Olympique Lyonnais, in this long-awaited shockwave of D1 Arkema which will be Webcast on Radio Canada Sports. Paris Saint-Germain is in second place, with the same number of points as OL, which is in first place thanks to a better goal difference. To say that this game is crucial is an understatement.

According to the media RMC SportsParis Saint-Germain was to ask the French Football Federation on Friday to postpone the match scheduled for Sunday at the Groupama stadium in Lyon.

Should this match happen, would Diallo be made available? Can coach Didier Ole-Nicole deprive himself of his services, as Khaira El Hamraoui may need time to recover from her injuries? It is impossible to get confirmations at the moment since PSG canceled all of its planned media activities on Friday, as well as its press conference and training.

This is a thorny issue that is not over yet for the club’s leaders.

Can we say with confidence that Aminata Diallo has nothing to do with this story? What we do know is that there is not enough evidence yet. On Friday, we learned that Diallo is officially challenging the charges against him.

How will the atmosphere in Paris Saint-Germain and the French national team? On social networks, many fans have already condemned the player.

It seems that doubt remains. Aminata Diallo’s name may have been tainted.

Whatever the outcome of the investigation, the damage has already been done.