On Nov 4, 2021, Hamraoui and Diallo were driving home from a PSG team dinner. Two masked men stopped their car, dragged Hamraoui out, and beat her legs with an iron bar. Diallo was held at the wheel. The attack lasted under a minute, targeting Hamraoui’s legs.
Diallo, Hamraoui’s substitute at PSG, was suspected of orchestrating the attack due to sporting rivalry. She was arrested but denied involvement, claiming racial bias in suspicions (Diallo is of Senegalese descent, Hamraoui of Algerian). Tensions grew in the PSG locker room.
PSG fans turned on Hamraoui, booing her and displaying banners supporting Diallo, like one on Feb 11, 2022: “Aminata Diallo we strongly support you.” Others questioned Hamraoui’s personal life. Hamraoui felt “abandoned” by PSG, as she wrote in Kheira à contre-pied.
Teammates Diani, Katoto, and Sandy Baltimore, sided with Diallo. They excluded Hamraoui in the dressing room and encouraged fan support for Diallo. Katoto and Diani made a gesture supporting Diallo during a France goal celebration in Feburary 2022.
In Apr 2022, a brawl broke out at PSG’s training ground involving Hamraoui, Baltimore, Diani, and Katoto. Sparked by Hamraoui’s accidental tackle on Baltimore, it led to a crisis meeting. Hamraoui was briefly suspended, deepening her isolation.
César Mavacala, Diani’s boyfriend and agent for Katoto and Diallo, emerged as a key figure. He was suspected of pressuring PSG to extend Katoto’s contract on the condition that Hamraoui leave the club by the end of the 2021-22 season.
Mavacala allegedly used “threats and intimidation” in talks with PSG’s then-director Ulrich Ramé, referencing inappropriate behavior by coach Didier Ollé-Nicolle to push his agenda. He denied wrongdoing, claiming he was a “free witness” in the case.
In Mar 2022, Hamraoui’s lawyer, Saïd Harir, wrote to PSG, accusing Diallo, Diani, and Katoto of “provoking, threatening, insulting, and intimidating” Hamraoui, calling it “repeated moral harassment” that harmed her mental health and career.
Harir criticized PSG’s “embarrassing silence” and “blameworthy passivity.” Hamraoui felt “sacrificed” for team harmony despite being the assault victim. She claimed the club wouldn’t have treated a male player the same way.
Investigations revealed Mavacala and Diallo’s “deep connivence,” with a “pact” to evict Hamraoui and secure Diallo’s contract extension. Police intercepted calls showing their “hatred” for Hamraoui and plans to destabilize PSG’s women’s section.
Mavacala was charged in Mar 2023 with “extorsion in an organized gang” for pressuring PSG, including leveraging Katoto’s contract talks. He was banned from contacting Hamraoui, Diallo, or PSG staff and from attending PSG facilities. He denied the charges.
Mavacala also allegedly targeted coach Ollé-Nicolle, hinting at misconduct to force his exit. Ollé-Nicolle was suspended in May 2022 after Diani’s claims of inappropriate behavior, later dismissed by courts in 2024. He called Mavacala part of “the mafia.”
Hamraoui left PSG in May 2023, joining Club América in Mexico, now she plays with Al-shabab. She wrote in her book that PSG “abandoned” her. Diallo moved to Levante in Spain. Diani now plays for Lyon, and Katoto remains at PSG. Mavacala’s case is ongoing.
Addition: After a short time at Levante. Diallo signed to play for Al-Nassr a team in Saudi Arabia.
(Article courtesy of @GxlDeDragoni)
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