“They played with our children's lives”: Narjissi family breaks silence after Medhi's disappearance

Djalil Narjissi and his partner Valérie, parents of Medhi, who disappeared in South Africa. MAXPPP – Loïc Déquier

Medhi Narjissi, a 17-year-old player from Stade Toulousain, died in South Africa in early August while he was with the French U18 team. The family held a press conference on Tuesday, August 27.

The exercise was terrible, extremely difficult. But the Narjissi family wanted to speak to the press, this Tuesday, August 27, in Agen. They answered questions about the disappearance of Medhi, a young 17-year-old player, while he was with the French U18 team in South Africa.

The father, Jalil, a former professional player, and Valérie, the mother, spoke out. The couple and their daughter, Inès, Medhi's older sister, arrived hand in hand in front of the press, as reported by our colleagues at Midi Olympique.

“And no adult did anything ?”

There has been much discussion about the context of the disappearance. This famous beach where the players went, although known to be dangerous, where Medhi disappeared. “According to the report of the investigation and the hearings of the South African investigators, it was the coach Robin Ladauge who made this decision (to go to the beach), on his own initiative. In the report, Stéphane Camboz, the manager, also says that he was not informed about it. It's a decision that Ladauge made on his own,”, explains Jalil Narjissi, in comments relayed by the bi-weekly sports magazine.

After recalling what happened, particularly the desire of two players to try to come to Medhi's aid, Jalil Narjissi does not understand the attitude of the staff. “No adult moved ? Another child almost died, Noah, my son's friend, his brother (the one who was taken away at the same time as Medhi Narjissi, Editor's note). He told his father that he almost died twice, that he had clung to a rock. Oscar, for his part, took more than twenty minutes to get back to the shore. While he is 2 meters tall and a good swimmer. And no adult did anything. ? They left them in the water ?”, declares the victim's father.

“It's not an accident, it was caused. A bus accident, a plane that crashes, or if Medhi gets injured and becomes paraplegic, we are all sorry, dejected. But not this, not something like this. They played with our children's lives. It was ours that disappeared. Medhi was our sun. But they also played with the lives of other children, Oscar or Noah, his best friend, who saw him die and who saw himself die too”, he concludes. The anger and sadness are immense, in an unspeakable ordeal of life.