Troyes: sporting director Jocelyn Blanchard under internal investigation after staff complaints

Jocelyn Blanchard will not be at the Stade Gaston-Gérard on Friday for Troyes’ friendly at Dijon, the club’s only friendly of the international break. The sporting director of the promoted side is the subject of an internal investigation opened after female employees reported his behaviour.

The story was broken on 1 October by the investigative journalist Romain Molina and detailed by the regional press. Appointed to the club in July, the former Metz and Lens midfielder, who also played for Juventus, now stands accused. Staff members blame him for “sexist remarks full of innuendo and inappropriate gestures towards female colleagues”, reports L’Est Éclair: according to the regional daily, the first behaviour was noticed very soon after his appointment, and discomfort spread through the club’s offices and the boxes of the Stade de l’Aube, where the works council was informed.

No complaint has been filed with the courts: the women used the club’s internal reporting system. The number of complainants remains unknown.

City Football Group sends its safeguarding lead

The investigation is run by the club’s owner, the City Football Group, which also owns Manchester City. Elisa Sicking-Bressler, the group’s head of safeguarding, flew in from England on Wednesday and has already conducted several interviews; L’Équipe reports that she is set to stay in Troyes several more days. The group’s reporting system, which also covers academy players, allows anonymous alerts through a dedicated form and QR codes displayed at the training ground and the stadium.

A club saying nothing

Troyes have not commented publicly on the affair, and neither has Blanchard. The news lands on a promoted club that went into the international break on a run of three straight defeats.

For the bettor, the affair stays in the boardroom: head coach Stéphane Dumont keeps control of the team and of the preparation for the restart. The only possible consequence on the pitch, if the inquiry ends in a departure or a sanction, would come at the winter transfer window.