Ex-France star jailed after being found guilty of shooting three bouncers

Former France international Tony Vairelles has been sentenced to five years in prison after being found guilty of violence with a weapon.

Vairelles was on trial for an incident that saw three bouncers injured in October 2011 after an attack at a nightclub in Meurthe-et-Moselle. Vairelles and his siblings had clashed with the men at the 4 As (Four Aces) in Nancy, Meurthe-et-Moselle's largest city.

Vairelles and his brother Fabrice Vairelles were handed a five-year sentence, with two of those years suspended. While the pair's other two brothers, Jimmy and Giovan, were handed three years behind bars, also with two years suspended.

Telling court earlier in the year, one of the victims, Baldassare Di Napoli, said: "The shooter tried to aim his gun at my face.

"I tried to take the pistol off him, and a bullet went through my hand. I still have pains in the length of my arm and psychological problems."

His brother Carlo, who was also working that evening, added: "I feared I would never walk again. I was in hospital for months, and have post-traumatic stress."

Vairelles had a journeyman career in his homeland: turning out for the likes of Lyon, Stade Rennes, and Bastia.

The highlight of Vairelles' career are the eight caps he picked up for Les Blues in a spell between 1998 and 2000, when he was playing for Lyon. However, Vairelles was never able to make a tournament squad, missing out on France's triumphs at the World Cup and Euro 2000.

He retired in 2011 after a short spell in Luxembourg, and then in the semi-professional divisions of France with FC Gueugnon.

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