Eight-year-old Kenzo suffers from a brain tumor that is already well advanced. The doctors assume that he will not survive much longer. In addition, it is very likely that he will soon lose his eyesight. But before that happens, the eight-year-old was dying to see a game played by his favorite club, Olympique Marseille.
So the whole family – his parents and his brother – attended OM’s away game at Corsican football club AC Ajaccio on the last day of the French Ligue 1 match, funded by a charity. But the game turned into a nightmare for the boy’s family, who were attacked by fanatical home club supporters for wearing their opponents’ shirts.
His mother Amandine told RTL France about the incident: “Kenzo was pushed onto an iron bar and they asked his father for his OM jersey. Then they punched him twice.” She herself tried to stop the attackers and shouted to them: “Don’t you see that it’s a sick child, a child who has cancer, leave it alone.” But the Ultras from Ajaccio paid no heed to it, they are said to have even burned the jerseys. Her son was severely traumatized.
The case caused consternation in France. The Corsican club condemned the attack and distanced itself from the so-called fans. “Even the most extreme stupidity cannot excuse this behavior,” it said in a statement. Even President Emmanuel Macron commented on this. He spoke out in favor of clear and harsh penalties for the perpetrators. He called the attack “completely unacceptable”. France’s Sports Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra called the eight-year-old boy and encouraged him.
Sources: RTL / “Le Parisien” / AC Ajaccio
