LIGUE 1: ANGERS COACH RESIGNS OVER POOR RESULTS, INAPPROPRIATE COMMENTS ON SEXUAL ASSAULT ALLEGATIONS

The Ligue 1 club announced on Tuesday that Abdel Bouhazama had departed Angers following a string of disappointing performances and an argument started by the head coach’s disrespectful statements.

The bottom-placed team in the standings, Angers, released a statement saying, “The decision to resign was decided by him at the end of February after repeated failures on the sports front.

“In addition, a scandal started on Monday after remarks made at the pre-match conference were leaked to the local and national press and taken out of context.

Abdel Bouhazama informed president Said Chabane that he had made the decision to resign as the coach of the professional squad in response to media pressure and in order to protect the club’s reputation and the tranquility of the locker room. The president agreed with the coach’s choice.

The controversy began when player Ilyes Chetti allegedly admitted to sexually assaulting a lady, according to sports publication L’Equipe. Next month, he will be judged by a court.

Before last weekend’s 5-0 loss to Montpellier, Bouhazama declared in his pre-game speech, “It’s not awful, we’ve all touched girls.

The statement said, “Angers wholeheartedly condemns the comments stated during the presentation, even if they seem to be more awkward than intended to trivialize a sexist remark.

Also, the group rejects all forms of prejudice, including sexism and misogyny.

“Abdel Bouhazama has apologized to his coworkers, especially the women, and has chosen to bear the repercussions of both his record and mistakes,” the author writes.

After 26 games, Angers has 10 points.