GIANTX PRIDE has announced the immediate termination of the contracts of French Jungler Philippe “Aqabane” Le and French Trainer Malauri “Malau” Ristobal. The decision follows serious allegations against Aqaba, including sexual assault of a minor and threats to spread sexual material in an attempt to silence the victim.
Smells like the end of Akabane and Malau’s career
In an announcement made on Sunday evening, academy team GIANTX Pride announced that they have terminated the contracts of jungler Philippe “Aqabane” Ley and coach Malauri “Malau” Ristobal effective immediately. Phil “Albie” Kin, a Dutch-born competitor, will take over the role of main jungler for the current season, while Nicolas Perez will take on the sole role of coach for the academy team.
— GIANTX (@GIANTXES) February 11, 2024
Aqaba was prompted by the allegations leveled against him following the decision by GiantX executives. screenshot spread on social networks. He is accused of threatening to release sexual images of a significant minor, which were apparently taken to silence the victim after the sexual assault, who should normally go to a police station within weeks to file a complaint.
For his part, Malau would have contacted the victim of this blackmail to persuade her to delete her tweet denouncing Akabane, presumably to protect the latter’s reputation. In an attempt to convince X, Malau admitted to reacting hastily and inappropriately, rejecting the notion that he tried to defend or cover up Akabane’s actions to protect his professional career.
— Malau (@Malau_lol) February 11, 2024
The outbreak of this controversy caused a wave of shock on social networks, especially in the French community, from where the two individuals concerned in the matter come from, thus prompting the Spanish team to act without delay. After reviewing and fully assessing the situation, the French player and coach were fired, sending a message to GiantX that the organization has zero tolerance for this type of behavior.
