On the face of it, French football is in pretty good shape. France are the reigning UEFA Nations League champions, ranked second in the FIFA World Rankings, and they have reached four out of the last seven FIFA World Cup finals, meanwhile Ligue 1 is one of Europe's top five leagues, and is home to the likes of Kylian Mbappé, Neymar, and Lionel Messi.
But behind the scenes lies a murkier side of the French game, which includes allegations of corruption, misconduct, and abuse, implicating some of the biggest names in French football.
So in this documentary, HITC Sevens attempts to peel behind the curtain, taking a look at some very well-documented and some much less known scandals and controversies in Ligue 1 and at the French Football Federation.
Isn't it crazy how much football fans can overlook when it comes to their favorite team/player? Absolutely insane!
Yep. This is why some fanatical fans like those Pessi/Penaldo fanboys, hardcore culers, hardcore manchester united fans, or even rabid Persija fans (all of them are plenty in my country, Indonesia) are simply shite imo. You criticize ONE SINGLE THING that those players/team do, it feels like you insult their mother or personal life. Very absurd
@@spotsthecat7913 casually leaves out hardcore Madrid and Bayern fans
it applies to everything, even politics and religion
Looking at you Newcastle fans 👀
@@spotsthecat7913 not Man United fans
Gotta say for the nature of your videos and the work that must come with putting them together your output has been phenomenal recently!
The issue seems to be general corruption in football, not a specific federation. You have pretty much done a story of corruption for all European football nations. It seems big money, egos, and government lead to dirty business. As a Canadian, I can't get enough of the constant drama. It is a consistent source of wonderful entertainment. Thanks Alfie!
Every nation except England…
@@josea1707MANCHESTER city?
@@jamanger Alfie only talks of "big oil" clubs in the UK, never of the reff's bias towards english players like Kane. He never talks about the way money is distributed in english football, the monopolization of football broadcasting and TV profits by the prem and the biggest prem clubs, and the extremely low wages some starters in the prem receive in comparison to other leagues. He also doesn't talk about absurd refereeing and VAR decisions in Spurs games and many big games this season (im not a spurs fan but their game against Brighton is the best example). Or the fact that England's only ever world cup came from a final that was clearly fixed, the ball never crossed the line.
Germany is the only league without big corruption
@@memomoe3927 every big league has some amount of corruption including bundesliga, many german fans could complain endlessly about the reffing.
As a french football fan, I have to congratulate you for this brillant summary of the French football chaos. It is really shocking to have all these cases in one place to realize how fucked the system is ! Also a lot of fun with french pronouciations ahaha.
Alfie's pronunciations are beyond mystifying. You'd think Guingamp was in China to listen to him!
Haha hey Hugo! Le monde est petit.
I would also like to clarify something. No, we didn’t have high hopes in 2010. We all knew the team was in shambles before the tournament, as illustrated by a loss to China's B Team before the start of the World Cup. No one was trusting this team. Still, it somehow managed to disappoint us
I am sure you were expecting to get out of the group stages at the very least.
@@GCAbleism158 No not really. Though I expected us to at the very least win one game
Croatia failed to qualify for WC 2010 while Serbia and Slovenia did, and their fans didn't have any expectations for their respective squads. In fact, even England who knocked us out didn't impress anybody despite how they played.
😂😂
Personally I at least expected the players to not go on strike and get off the bus.
As a matter of fact the Dutch and Portuguese leagues have both been more successful than the French league throughout history but yet they aren't currently regarded as being in the top 5 while France is
Money and power, our Portuguese league has no power nor money as the French has ... The same I ask for that dodgy FIFA ranking where they put England always in the top 5, but they're shite anyway.... All about money, power and influence
Ligue 1 has about the same number of European Cup finals as the Dutch & Portugese league but yeah French football had not had top 3 clubs like the big 3 in Netherlands & Portugal.
Maybe it's just because both countries have considerably smaller populations than France. That's not to say the quality of their football is less than France's. Also, France has been extremely influential right from the beginning of FIFA and UEFA so they probably have more clout because of that. It's not fair, but you know, that's how these things work. 🙃
Prob cos a lot of international players especially for African countries play there? Im not sure tho also maybe cos France is a football powerhouse internationally.
Well, there is the UEFA 5-years ranking, which is based on club performances in UEFA club competitions. And there, France is 5th and has been like that since 2016, so yeah, they are currently a top 5 league.
When people say keep politics out of football don't realise that football is inherently political and unfortunately those politics are and always have been dragged through the shit, man football is one of the most polarising sports, it's so fun and exciting to watch but the corruption that is rife throughout the entire game from all corners of the globe really tests that
Proper comment: It is a profound shame that the French Football Federation does not live up to the talent of the French national team, and an even greater shame that there will be no consequences for their abject failure to do so.
An even greater shame that the greatest “French” players didn’t get to player for their actual nationality and make the footballing world more diverse. Nigeria and Algeria would be some of the best national teams in history.
@@josea1707 that is actually not that way, most french internationals for the wc in 2022, while having various origins on their ancestors part, were all born and socialized as french. e.g. only Camavinga and Thuram from the WC 22 Teamlist were not born in France, with Camavinga being born in a refugee camp in Angola and Thuram being born in Italy. this is obvs not to say that France is a despicable country and a god ridden place on what it has done to their colonies. not a colonialism apologist, just pointing that whether they may have various origins, they're french
You would wonder why Ligue 1 has trailed well behind the other major leagues for most of its history on account of the size of France and how strong the French national team is and the insane amount of talent being produced in that country, France is an economic powerhouse so you would think that they would have a wealthier football league I mean Spain with a smaller population has a league La Liga that has in general been light years ahead of Ligue 1 and far more successful in European competitions so you would wonder why there's such a gulf in class when football is hardly a backwater sport in France is it
One of the things the French league notoriously lacks when compared to the other major leagues is local rivalries to boost the engagement even more. There's only 1 team per city and even for regional rivalries the teams are very spread apart with the odd exception or two.
Spain attracts talents from Latin America. It makes sense why Spanish football is really competitive.
@@soundscape26 also, some of the rivalries that exist are either pretty weak (like there is multiple teams in Brittany and around, or the multiple teams is provence or burgundy) or on of the clubs gets relegated (like st etienne, who are the rivals of lyon, and lens, rivals of lille, who got relegated a few years back, even if the are back now; or nancy and metz who both got relegated) that's why people try to hype up other games (lyon and marseille in the "Olympico" or paris and marseille in the "Classique") but with limited succes
@@baovinh5727 France attracts african talent
Isnt Rugby quite big in France? Maybe that's part of it
French FA in 2010: "We want a new direction of management, a clean break, this one doesn´t work....let´s vote for the guy who was vice president to the previous president for almost a decade!" You can´t make those things up ^^ Also the Benzema-Valbuena scandal is way less straightforward than what is mentioned here (I assume for brevity´s sake): some "friends" (apparently childhood acquaintances from the poor area he grew up in) from Benzema hacked Valbuena´s phone to extract the video and asked for money to not release it publicly. Then when Valbuena initially refused to pay Benzema suddenly approached Valbuena in a national team training session, and recommended him he should pay, that they only had one copy of the video and it would be deleted if he paid. That´s when Valbuena went to court and accused him of blackmail, since he had inside knowledge of the plot. Until that point Valbuena didn´t know Benzema had a connection to the hackers.
I live and France and I know about all this feuds and scandals, but I never thought than French football as chaotic. But hearing you summerise everything all of that in this video is scary
Would love for you to do a video on Frances women's coach
When even the president of the country becomes a simple errand deliverer for Qatar, asking Mbappé to stay in Paris when he's supposed to not favour any football team in France for example, you can imagine the amount of corruption in French football.
Mais quand c'est pelé avec le Brésil on en parle pas par contre 😂
Kept thinking the video was gonna end and then you’d just bring up another. Scary to think what some of these people think they can get away with. Thanks Alfie
Many are at it, a few will get caught, but they all damage football. Can't take many leagues seriously now one bit
A while ago u did the best Prem XI. Can u do the worst? Would be fun to see. Throwing in a manager as well would be very interesting.
I would kindly request a "What on Earth is Going On at..." video about Sampdoria. They're dead last in Serie A, have had an ownership change due to their previous owner having been arrested for fraud, and their players haven't been paid because the club itself is teetering on the edge of bankruptcy.
Yes, he made videos for historical teams like Schalke 04, Werder Bremen, Bordeaux and Saint Etienne when they were relegated, so a look on Sampdoria would be welcomed.
@@soundscape26 Also Valencia unfortunatelly
@@JPL454 Yes, a case can be made for them as well even though they still have a chance to survive. Sampdoria is all but gone at this point.
@@soundscape26 Yes, I always admired Sampdoria and I never knew why, maybe because they reached the UCL final once, really sad to see those kinds of teams go down
This entire video is a smokescreen just so Alfie could post that tennis photo lmao.
Thank you for bringing these issues to the broader public, many of these problems have stayed within France for years.
Your videos been off the hook. Thanks for the amount of work to put together these great videos.
I do recently know that my beloved nation France's league is becoming corrupted due to one of the only moments for now,Paris Saint Germain who despite they are one of my favourites,have just bankrolled the French Ligue 1 on the whole for more than eleven years as well as the recent protests against the president Emmanuel Macron sir which were chaotic,good friends!!!I am grieving about the French football at this moment of time but I am fully hoping for the French Football Federation to rectify and solve the issue big time,good friends!!!ALLEZ FRENCH FOOTBALL!!!🇨🇵
I'm not gonna assume that you read my comment asking for this video, but I'm gonna thank you for doing it
Just when you think things can't get more ridiculous in this video it just gets worse and worse looool, french football is truly a mess
France Football just changed the Balon D'or rules so messi can win it again
I reckon you’d be able to come in and save French football from the clutches of corruption if it weren’t for that knee injury y’know
@@deezgutz5330 Ballon*
Day 8: The despot president of Bangladesh Football Federation
Ngl, this really caught me by surprise, even if corruption and sleaziness in the world of football shouldn't be too surprising at this stage
Normally I would complain about pronunciations and stuff like that but for the amount of work you put into these videos, it's one of those rare occasions where I'll let it pass. To say it's a thorough investigation is up there for understatement of the month.
You could expand this to "France is in crisis", because France is always in crisis
This is a wild story! Great video as always❤
I would like for there to be a part II. ONE HUNDRED PERCENT!
Wow so much intricacies 👍 any chance for a video about Maltese Football please?
Alfie, would you consider make two separate videos that go more in-depth about 1.Corrine Diacre’s controversial/toxic tenure as the manager of France’s Women’s National team which lead her to get sacked last month and 2.The alleged attack on Kheira Hamaroui by her own former PSG Teammate Aminata Diallo) into this video
Do the same type of video for Mexico Football. It is a lot worse than any other federation when it comes to corruption
Nothing I like more than to come home on a Friday evening and watch one of your excellent videos keep them comeing
a person being in the top 1000 at anything on this planet is quite an achievement... there are 7 billion people
Please make a video on the following topics: Hi Alfie, thank you for including two of my ideas for future videos (Corrine Diacre’s controversial/toxic tenure as the manager of France’s Women’s National team which lead her to get sacked last month and The alleged attack on Kheira Hamaroui by her own former PSG Teammate Aminata Diallo) into this video!!
Please make a video on the following topics: -The drama/scandal surrounding Gregg Berhalter and Gio Reyna’s parents during the 2022 FIFA World Cup -Ranking all of the goals that won the FIFA World Cup Goal of the Tournament Award -The Dortmund bus bombing in 2017 right before their Champions League Quarterfinal against Monaco
Stellar work as usual sir.
The best football doc channel, no stupid jokes and very intelligent takes
"Indeed" shows Ndidi. Oh my word. HAHAHAHA
They're not pronounced the same.
I’m kinda late to this vid, but your content is for sure the only genuine football journalism right now
Thanks for the dissertation. Great work.
Alfie pointed the machine gun to french football and simply didn't stopped. Brilliant stuff
The sarcasm is just dripping off this video
Brilliant video. Almost exhausting to watch though.
Love these very informative.
I am once again asking for a video about Algeria's unofficial FLN team (1958-1962) Which to be honest is thematically relevant to this video
im not a French football supporter but they ,hands down, have ALWAYS had the nicest national team kit..very classy look. love the pinstripe detail
Always? For decades they just had blue shirts.
.
They need to go back to royal blue shirts though. The navy Nike kits are not as detailed and colourful
Posting for the 13th time: I created an all-time XI with no overlap of international careers - no player was active for their national team at the same time as any other player. Here it is (with the years of each player's international career listed in parentheses): 🇩🇪 Oliver Kahn (1995 - 2006) 🇩🇪 Manfred Kaltz (1975 - 1983), 🏴 Bob Crompton (1902 - 1914), 🇧🇷 Thiago Silva (2008 - ), 🇩🇪 Andreas Brehme (1984 - 1994) 🇺🇾 José Leandro Andrade (1923 - 1930), 🇮🇹 Ugo Locatelli (1936 - 1940) 🇮🇹 Valentino Mazzola (1942 - March 1949) 🇧🇷 Pelé (1957 - 1971), 🇧🇷 Neco (1917 - 1922), 🇭🇺 Zoltán Czibor (May 1949 - 1956) Manager: 🇨🇿 Karel Petrů (1931 - 1935) If you choose to ignore the position of manager, Ugo Locatelli can be replaced in midfield by 🇦🇷 Antonio Sastre (1933 - 1941). How about making a video featuring an XI you created using this limitation (and without using uncapped players)?
Bro I don’t think u can improve this 💀💀
plumberball galore
I know this isn’t relevant but there’s like a sports week going on at my college and they made us watch Alfie's video on 7 countries where football isn’t the most popular sport. Idk thought that was a valid anecdote to slap under this video
Amazing research Alfie...👍🖖✊️
The Canal plus fiasco really displayed to me how stuffed French football was even at the very top level, nevermind grassroots
Best football channel by far
Zinedine Zidane should run for FFF president
Please do a video on Jonas Hector the international who went down with his club rejected every offer from liverpool chelsea etc retired from national team as beeing an first team player he just announced retirement and was one of the few knights of loyality in football he earned it
Sometimes just go straight to the point😂😂😂 my head is paining me😅 any ways you are doing a good job. Well done.
Earned a Subscribe just for the image of Ndidi while saying "Indeed..." 😂
Unfortunately, they're not pronounced alike.
Alfie, please can you do a video on Tottenham and what is going on there?
At minute 7:00 the picture you used is of the King of Bahrain and not the Emir of Qatar. Secondly, the Emir of Qatar at the time was Hamad Bin Khalid and not Hamad Bin Jassim as you mentioned. 7:00
Of course that great Marseille side during the early 90s ended up being embroiled in scandal and were forcibly relegated shortly after winning the European Cup in 1993 so this goes back some way
I see Chaos, and I see France, and I put a like. Really love chaos in France
Why
@@avtgreg1219 i see chaos, i see france, i see greg's underpants
The goat of football videos. Love ur sarcasm
You and Vizeh keep the spark alive ❤
5:55 the trophy actually has some creative nicknames around the world. "Hercules Trophy" in China for example.
Rimet seems to have been one of those people who did his best in trying circumstances, and genuinely had the best interests of the sport he loved at heart. Even if the trophy isn't actually named after him any more, I think it speaks volumes about his influence on the game that I thought it was, until a few minutes ago, because that's how I've always known it. Without knowing too much about his life, I feel it's an honour he absolutely deserves - maybe if I did know more, I would think otherwise, and I'm open to that as well.
Great and deep diving video. Gaultier sounds like an absolute chad btw. Sometimes you need to call it what it is.
Hi Alfie, just for info Guingamp is pronounced "gang-gong", I live not far from there! Apart from that, fantastic video!
Simon Jordan wasn't a fan of Nasser Al-Khelafi, but after he met with him, all of a sudden, he thought he was great, and a really smart businessmen.
lol, that says more about Simon Jordan. He's desperate for a seat at the big boy table.
@@justme-hh4vp Absolutely, that's the point haha. He is so transparent.
God bless u fam this is going to help me do a whole assignment for school 🙏🏽🙏🏽
Alfie at @5.53: "[the Jules Rimet trophy] had been stolen, melted down by thieves in Brazil...". The image used: longtime FIFA president João Havelange... a Brazilian. Never change, Alfie!
30:37 Wait, this looks similar to what happened with PSG's advertising video for 2024, which only contained Mbappé, who blamed his club for this. Is this really a different incident with the French national team, or did you make a confusion.
And still none of this includes the organisation of the 2022 Champions League final in which police actively tried to cause mass death outside the Stade de France, and FFF and UEFA blamed fans arriving late, a complete bare-faced lie, for being trapped in cages while sprayed with tear gas and aiming rifles at crowds exiting the stadium after the match causing stampedes while local criminals mugged, stabbed and held people at gunpoint.
Video idea - history of Queen's Park FC
You have to make one of argentinian football, thus covering both teams of the WC final
Amazing video, had no idea of the level of insanity that exists in that countrys FA. Makes their achievements on the pitch in the past 20 years even more amazing
Can you do a video about the 2010/2011 match fixing scandal in turkey ?
One thing Ligue 1 could do is do a salary cap. They would be the first top 5 league in Europe to do so. It will probably greatly improve other clubs fans participation. Tv deals and more if the league was more even.
If you disappear, we'll know it was Al-Khalafi.
Day 10: best XI Brazilians that played for other nations
Deco, Diego Costa, Jorginho immediately come to mind.
The amount of research that you (and your team?) do is staggering.
shocking great vid. Knew some not all of it
Best German players in the premier league of all time. (Day 487) I will not give up until the video is made or Alfie himself tells me to stop. Everyone else telling me that will be ignored. If you don't believe my number, just go back to the previous videos. I'm at the bottom most of the time, but I'm there.
I will never forgive the french FA for refusing to give a balloon d'or in 2020. Lewa deserved better.
It isn't the french FA which gives the ballon d'or. It is a magazine called France Football.
@@negativepyra3962 doesn’t change the fact they should’ve gave it but “chose not to” Aka cause neither Messi or Mbappe was not winning it they didn’t wanna give it France Football shouldn’t even be allowed to the shit anymore as it’s easy to rig
It was lockdown dude chill...remeber what Messi said ? If Messi was involved in corruption then he would've never told lewa about 2020 ballon d'or infront of everyone
And still you didn't mention the gun attack that occurred against ngolo kante
this is a lot crazier than canadian french football (ice hockey in quebec)
Just a shame an underdog like Lens won't win it this season. That would have been an amazing story.
Plastic trophy as usual
Slowly falling out of love with football
Football is the most popular sport in the world 🌎
i hit the like button before i even see the video because it’s the people’s channel
Holy shit!! I wanna know more about Corinne Diacre though
Nice. We waiting a week for the next episode? 😂
It’s so mad to think how most people don’t realise just how corrupt France and world Football truly is💀
Thank you for not highlighting Palhinha could leave Fulham, we're all trying to hush those rumours 😄
Mirrors the state of French society.💥🔥
Day 23: Rise and fall of Klaipėdos Atlantas
Actually 995 ATP rank is not bad considering there are over 8000 players in the rank, so you really shouldnt trash him for that. Specially when there are a 1000 real and legit reasons to trash the man
I thought only in3rd world countries like ours happen these kind of things 😅
6:06 indeed 😂😂
Those reports towards the end of the video are just horrible. It's one thing to be corrupt, but it's something entirely else to abuse and hurt people. I hope the Austrian Wunderteam video will not have such terrible facets to it 😇✌.
Alfie please do a video explaing what happened to the first ever ukraainian champion Tavriya Simferopol. I still cannot figure this out.
Do you think he might have any Le Graët?
Reminds me of Hockey Canada. After the junior championships members of Team Canada r worded a woman in a hotel and were involved in a settlement which HC misused pandemic funds to pay off. Also HC was involved in several hazing allegations by former players and staff among other incidents. Look it up if it interests you
Make a video about why south east asia is so bad at football