Harassed in stadiums, Laure Boulleau launches documentary on violence in football

Laure Boulleau presented this week her documentary Violence in football, what if we calmed down?, a film in which the former French international (39) meets with victims and perpetrators of violence in stadiums. An approach fueled by her own experiences as a consultant.

“I’ve had some bad experiences going to stadiums,” she told SoFoot. “I hadn’t realized that you could be an enemy of certain clubs by appearing on TV shows. There were two or three matches where I really felt unsafe, where I felt that people didn’t like me at all.”

The former PSG player attributes these incidents in part to her brand image: “I had a bit of the ‘Paris Saint-Germain’ label and I had the impression that people held it against me. I got verbally heckled and I was taken aback in the sense that I have nothing against their club. I’m just doing my job.” She had also been a victim of online harassment following comments she made about Alexis Sanchez when he joined Marseille.

These episodes have changed her relationship with stadium visits: “I actually love going to the stadium, but since that event, I’m definitely going to be careful because I think there can be quick assumptions and I could be targeted. I have the impression that today, when people aren’t happy, they’re going to be very aggressive, quite violent in their words.”

Engaged for several years on these issues, notably through her association Contrepied, Boulleau intends with this documentary not only to testify, but also to propose concrete solutions to curb a phenomenon she considers concerning in French football.