Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper Apoula Edel is being blackmailed by his former coach and adviser Nicolas Philibert, the club’s sporting director Alain Roche said on Tuesday.
Philibert worked with Edel in Cameroon, where the player was born, and persuaded him to move to Armenia in 2002.
In a report in Tuesday’s edition of Le Parisien newspaper, Philibert claimed that Edel owes him 30,000 euros (US$44,000) but the naturalized Armenian international refuses to pay him.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Following this refusal, Philibert allegedly provided information to Saint-Etienne, PSG’s opponents on Sunday, that cast doubt on the goalkeeper’s true age and identity.
Saint-Etienne accordingly filed a complaint prior to their match at the Parc des Princes, which they lost 3-0 with Edel keeping goal for the home side.
“In 2000 and 2001 I was the coach [at Cameroonian side Espoirs de Yaounde] of Ambroise Beyamena [Edel’s real name, according to Philibert], who was 19 years old,” Philibert told France Bleu radio. “This player has behaved very badly towards me for four or five years.”
Philibert went on to allege that Edel has not settled outstanding debts between the two men.
“I visited him at his hotel in Montpellier before PSG’s match [on Aug. 8],” Philibert said.
“I told him that I was not happy with his behavior and he laughed in my face. I told him: ‘Wait until I denounce you for lying about your age and your identity.’ He was 19 in 2000, so he is 27 today,” he said.
PSG and the French Professional League officially list Edel’s date of birth as June 17, 1986, making him 23.
On Sunday, PSG president Robin Leproux lamented the reservations raised by Saint-Etienne ahead of the league game between the clubs.
“It is the act of club directors who have lost their nerve and their composure,” he said. “Regarding Edel, he has all his papers in order, approved by FIFA, passport etc.”
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