#insults #prison #suicidal #thoughts #son #excerpts #book #Tony #Vairelles
On Thursday will appear the autobiography of Tony Vairelles entitled “Balls in the center”, in reference to his recent sentence to five years in prison, including three firm, for violence with a weapon. It tells of his time in prison and the chaos that his situation generated.
Just two weeks after being found guilty of “violence with a weapon”, Tony Vairelles will publish his autobiography “Balls in the center” (Hugo Sport), on Thursday, written with the journalist Romain Jacquot. The book has been ready for a year, he says, but was waiting for the end of the trial to see the light of day. He will be the guest of the Rothen ignite program at RMC this Thursday, starting at 6 pm
This took place at the Nancy Criminal Court in May and resulted in a sentence of five years in prison, including three years, for a 2011 shooting outside the “Les 4 As” nightclub in Essey-les-Nancy. . His three brothers were also sentenced to prison terms: 5 years, including 2 suspended sentences also for Fabrice Vairelles and 3 years, including two suspended sentences for Jimmy and Giovan, all tried for having opened fire and injured three security guards. .
Since his sentence, the former striker lives with his wife and two children in Bordeaux, after spending five months in preventive detention in 2011 in the Metz prison, a rival city of his training club, Nancy. He recounts his remarkable arrival at the penal establishment.
“I hear insults from everywhere: ‘Vairelles enc…'”
“In addition, very shortly after my arrival, I received a barrage of insults, he wrote in his book. In the prison of Metz-Queuleu, when you go for a walk, you walk through the whole big neighborhood. And there, I hear insults everywhere: ‘Vairelles enc…’ and so on… You can’t lower your head, you can’t be the one who’s afraid, if you’re not dead. You can’t have a bad reaction either. If you give the finger or arm of honour, it is likely that all the prisoners will take it for themselves, even those who did nothing to you. It would be disrespectful to you. – lives with these guys who don’t ask for anything, quiet in their corner “.
He recounts his meeting with another prisoner, Thierry Coignard, practicing slam, an art that ex-player is passionate about. He especially details the ordeal experienced by his family during his detention and in particular that of his son, Guydjo, then 7 years old.
“At first my wife and parents come to the visiting room without Guydjo. I don’t want the six-year-old to discover that, the prison world. But Audrey ends up taking him because she is in the process of wasting away and getting fat, by dint of not seeing me for several weeks, Guydjo thinks that something is hidden from him, he even thinks that I am dead… One day, Audrey finds him crying in the shower. , saying: “I want to join Papa in Paradise. I only found out after prison, otherwise I would have gone crazy, I think! Same with the letter to Santa written by Guydjo who only wants one present: his papa . Or even worse, that day when my wife can no longer find Guydjo, on a Wednesday afternoon when I came home just after a visit.”
“The plumber has just stopped by to repair a leak, he leaves with his van, continues the former Lens player. Audrey calls the little boy for a snack, he does not answer… An endless moment of panic follows, the most unimaginable and the most The drama goes round and round in Audrey’s head: the plumber, the van… She screams louder and louder, but nothing. She screams in our street and there, on top of the hill that overlooks our house. , Audrey he sees Guydjo with his backpack, bought a few days before, at his request, with a flashlight, cakes and a compass, and Guydjo telling him, “I’m going to free daddy…” when I talk about it today.
Vairelles also reviews his career and tells some anecdotes of his time with the France team (eight teams, one goal between 1998 and 2000) in particular. “One day, with the Blues, they invite us to the UNFP Trophy evening, he says. We wait behind the scenes before going on stage. I’m with the goalkeeper Lionel Letizi, my friend. He tells him how he’s doing when I go shopping in Lens, what a joy to have this contact with the fans. And there’s Zinedine Zidane listening to the conversation. Zizou can’t believe it, I remember his phrase: “Do you still buy at the supermarket, Tony?” “normal” life, actually.”
When Zidane is surprised that Vairelles is shopping at the supermarket
“At the same time, Zinédine Zidane is in another galaxy since his two goals in the 1998 World Cup final against Brazil (3-0), he recalls. As much as I would have liked to have Zidane’s course and success as a footballer, as much as I would not have liked to have his life, without direct relations with the fans, without being able to be close to people. When you become a world icon, you don’t belong to yourself anymore, it’s beautiful and sad at the same time.”
It also evokes that exchange that with a certain Cristiano Ronaldo had not occurred in 2002 when he played for Lyon. “In an attempt to bring me in, Sporting are going to make an exchange offer in Lyon for two players,” he explains. In the conversation, Laszlo Bölöni gives me the names of the two Lisbon players in question. And among them, there is… Ronaldo! This name makes me bow down! Cristiano is not famous at that moment, he is too young, but his name immediately catches my attention and for good reason, it is the same name as Ronaldo, the Brazilian phenomenon, the star player of the moment on the planet. . So he could have been traded for two players, including Cristiano Ronaldo.”