Former footballer Patrice Evra reveals having been a victim of adolescent sexual violence

Published on : 10/23/2021 – 10:59

Patrice Evra, a former player for the France and Manchester United team in particular, said on Friday that he was the victim of sexual violence when he was a teenager. In an interview with The Times on the occasion of the publication of his autobiography, Patrice Evra, now 40, said he was the victim of these attacks when he was 13 and still in school.

He added that it had been much more difficult to reveal the facts to his mother than to bring it up in her autobiography or in interviews. “Of course, she was very shocked,” he told the British daily. “It was a tough time for me and I still haven’t told some of my siblings and close friends,” he added.

The former rear, born in Dakar, said he had decided to make this matter public to help other children who may be in a similar situation. “I’m not trying to make people feel sorry, it’s a difficult situation,” he said. “A mother does not expect to hear such things from her own child.”

“If he’s still alive, I’ll kill him”

“I only told her now when I am 40 years old. It was a big shock to her with a lot of anger.”

“‘You must not put it in your book, it’s private, Patrice’, she said to me. But I told her that it was not about me but about the other children and her. replied that it was OK, that she understood “.

The former player clarified that he had not filed a complaint against his attacker who, he claimed, was one of his teachers. “The first thing my mother said to me was, ‘If you don’t, I will. If he’s still alive, I’m going to kill him.’ But I buried it so deep in me that I did not think of filing a complaint “.

Patrice Evra added that when he was 24 and then playing for Monaco he received a call from the police regarding his alleged attacker, but was unable to say what had happened to him. “Living with this is one of my biggest regrets because I could have helped so many people,” he lamented.

With AFP