Present on Thursday at the trial brought by Didier Deschamps against Daniel Riolo for defamation, Franck Le Gall, the Blues doctor took the opportunity to settle scores with the PSG doctors.
Didier Deschamps did not come alone to the Paris criminal court, where the trial of Daniel Riolo was held, sued for defamation by the coach of the France team. The coach of the France team had in fact cited as witnesses Franck Le Gall, the doctor of the Blues and Mohamed Sanhadji, the security officer of the France team since 2004.
The two members of the French staff notably confirmed the version of the former midfielder concerning the hasty departure of Karim Benzema a few days before the kick-off of the 2022 World Cup. Hit in the thigh, the former Madrid player had left the Blues in the middle of the night, without saying goodbye.
But for some, including Daniel Riolo, Franck Le Gall made a diagnosis error by assuring the French striker that he was suffering from a grade 2 injury, Hakim Chalabi, head of the famous Aspetar clinic in Doha and also head of the PSG medical unit, believing that it was only a grade 1 injury and that Karim Benzema could have returned after ten days of rest.
Franck Le Gall takes out the sulphate
“I’ve been in the business for 29 years, I can assure you that after a while, I’m not the right god, but I have a little experience. Chalabi is not really recognized in the medical community, he is not a doctor, he is a clinic director, he told the judge, adding: “ I share my clinical examination and the MRI when I have a doubt, it happens to me. I did it for Lucas Hernandez in 2021, when he did his meniscus. I am not the good god. Aspetar, we have the impression that it is the good god. I have the right not to trust Aspetar, nor in Doctor Chalabi. Chalabi is not good at all: it’s me I, me I. It’s even borderline for him, today I think. »
This testimony was also an opportunity for Franck Le Gall to settle his score with the PSG medical staff regarding Ousmane Dembélé, who was injured in early September against Ukraine after arriving tired at the France team gathering.
“Are we talking about the Dembélé affair today? Dembélé is the same as today. We are being dismantled by PSG when that has no reason to be. With Doué and Dembélé, I have no images, I have nothing from them (from PSG). I do. The images are normal so they stay with us. He had pain on the left and no ass, he hurts on the right, he lashed out. We received three letters, including one from Chalabi, who gave us a lot of lessons at that time. When they get injured later at the club, we hear more about PSG. No apology from PSG, no report from Mr. Chalabi. Double standards in medical treatment. »
