A rugby player convicted of domestic violence: Biarritz Olympique collects cases

Biarritz, le club du président Jean-Baptiste Aldigé n'en finit plus de sombrer dans les affaires et les polémiques. MAXPPP – Jérémie FULLERINGER

Le pilier Zakaria El Fakir a été condamné jeudi à 4 mois avec sursis pour violences conjugales.

A rugby player from Biarritz Olympique was sentenced Thursday by the Bayonne court to four months in prison for "habitual violence" on his partner, committed between 2016 and 2023.

Pillar Zakaria El Fakir, 27, recruited in 2021 by the club, was on trial for several episodes of physical and psychological violence against his wife. But he denied "any violence" at the bar of the court. However, his wife filed a complaint against him twice, the first time in 2019 and the second in 2022.

A hold that has never ceased

Toxic couple relationship

She was then relocated to emergency accommodation, with her two children. Today, the couple has resumed a life together. The prosecution, in requesting a one-year suspended prison sentence, pointed to a "control which never ceased" and a "state of economic submission" of the victim, "whose word is taken into account by justice", even though she has wanted to withdraw.

In her complaint, she mentioned "slaps" and regular verbal violence. "There were disagreements and couple conflicts but there was never violence", maintained the BO player. His lawyer, Me Olivier Couleau, who pleaded for acquittal, regretted a "file with holes" and a "toxic couple relationship", which however does not fall under criminal law.

Zakaria El Fakir passed through the clubs of Béziers, Bordeaux and Agen before signing for Biarritz in 2021, where his contract was renewed for three years.

In July 2023, the Pro D2 club created a controversy by recruiting Mohammed Haouas, former Montpellier player, convicted twice for violence, including a one-year prison sentence closed for hitting his wife in front of a supermarket.