From one controversial injury to another. The essence of the defamation lawsuit filed by Didier Deschamps against Daniel Riolo’s editorial, the thigh tear suffered by Karim Benzema ahead of the start of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, sparked a strong reaction from the Blues’ doctor, Dr. Franck Le Gall, who again raised the conflict at the start of the season with PSG regarding Ousmane Dembele’s injury.
To understand the connection, we have to go back to November 2022, when Karim Benzema suffered an injury in the final training session before the French team competed. The Blues staff then took him to undergo an MRI at the Aspetar center in Doha, Qatar, a clinic renowned in the world of sports medicine and headed by Hakim Chalabi, also PSG’s medical director.
In the picture, the class 2 connection is read by Blues doctor Franck Le Gall, who then decides that his tournament is over and he should return home. Daniel Riolo, who accused Didier Deschamps on the RMC broadcast of “lying” about the nature of Benzema’s injury and the real reason for his departure, then cited a discussion he would have a few days later with Dr. Chalabi, referring to a grade 1 injury that is not a barrier to the end of the competition.
“Chalabi is no longer a reference”
A version that angered Franck Le Gall before the 17th investigative chamber of the Paris court. Even more so in the recent context, as PSG criticized the Blues for playing the recovering Ousmane Dembele in early September, leading to Ousmane Dembele’s relapse and lively controversy.
“I have the right not to believe Aspetar and Chalabi, we were under the impression that they were the ones who discovered the drugs,” said Dr. Franck Le Gall. 50 years ago, Qatar was a rock. Chalabi is no longer a reference. It is not a good God, like Aspetar. »
He followed up on the September controversy and Dembele’s injury, admitting to having received three letters, including one from Dr Chalabi, “which taught a lot”. “We were dropped by PSG because of a medical report that had no reason. (On Dembele) I don’t have any pictures, I don’t have an MRI, they stayed with us while PSG said they were injured. He was hit on the left, he was hurt on the right, it was unlucky.”
Before concluding: “PSG played Désiré Doué three games in a row while he was recovering from injury, he was torn and we no longer heard from PSG’s medical unit. Same for Ousmane Dembele. There is a double standard. »
