He was to be the new face in the Paris Saint-Germain goals, the symbol of a project focused on the future. Recruited for 40 million euros this summer, Lucas Chevalier carried on his shoulders the hopes of a club and its supporters. But in a few hours, a gesture off the field changed everything. Not a missed stop or a random restart, but a simple “like” on an Instagram post. A click that sparked a storm and put the 24-year-old goalkeeper in an untenable position.
Chevalier, a ‘like’ that sets fire to the powder
Everything changed during the night from Saturday to Sunday. The Parisian doorman “liked” a video relaying the words of a Les RĂ©publicains elected official, who said he preferred to vote for the National Rally rather than the New Popular Front. The screenshot’s spread was immediate and viral. Very quickly, some of the Parisian supporters, notably the CUP ultras very attached to anti-racist values, expressed their anger. Chevalier tried to put out the fire in the middle of the night, pleading “handling error” in a long message of apology, assuring that these opinions were absolutely not his own.
But the damage was done. The justifications of the player, who says he is the victim of “accidental action”struggled to convince. For many, the mistake was too big to be unintentional. The situation became even more complex when far-right political figures came to his defense, reinforcing suspicion among his detractors. Meanwhile, PSG has chosen radio silence, an absence of official communication which leaves room for all interpretations.
The one-click mistake that costs Lucas Chevalier dearly
More than a fine, a broken reputation
However, an official sanction from the club seems unlikely. How to prove the intentionality of a simple click? PSG will undoubtedly not take the risk of opening a political Pandora’s box. And yet, the real sanction has already fallen. It is not financial or sporty, but it is much heavier. It is the sanction of the lost image and confidence. The name of Lucas Chevalier is now associated, rightly or wrongly, with a controversy which directly clashes with the values ​​of part of his own supporter base.
In a locker room as multicultural as that of Paris, this kind of affair leaves its mark. Every ball shot will now be scrutinized, every performance analyzed through this prism. For a player who has already been criticized sportingly since his arrival, this additional burden is immense. He will have to win back the hearts of the supporters not only with his hands, but by proving that this episode was just an accident. A colossal task. The invisible sanction is often the hardest to overcome.
