Anthony Knockaert says Brighton support after father’s death ‘saved’ him
Anthony Knockaert has opened up on his battle against depression after the death of his father and the break-up of his marriage, praising the support he received from Brighton.
The 27-year-old was instrumental in leading the club to promotion to the Premier League for the first time in their history in 2017 but midway through the campaign he suffered the loss of his father Patrick due to stomach cancer.
Ahead of the Seagulls’ top-flight return Knockaert then split up with his wife, who returned to France with their toddler son and the Frenchman says his emotional struggles became apparent at the players’ Christmas party last year.
„There was a moment when I began crying and I just couldn’t stop,“ Knockaert told The Guardian.
Knockaert spoke to club captain Bruno, who in turn spoke to Brighton manager Chris Hughton before the Frenchman underwent a course of therapy with the club’s backing.
„I had to tell Bruno that I needed help, that nothing was going right in my life,“ he said.
„That I didn’t know where it was all going to end if I didn’t talk about it. I felt like I was on the edge, staring into the abyss. I was afraid of what might happen.“
On the support he received from a psychologist, he added. „I think it saved me. It wasn’t immediate. It took time.
„But after three or four months I started to feel better and even though you must never get carried away I can honestly say that right now I feel back to my normal self. Happy.
„And I can see how it all came about – losing my Dad, the pending divorce, not seeing my little boy every day. It was impossible for me to concentrate on football. Impossible.
„I had dreamed of playing Premier League football but I was in no state to give the best of myself. It was depressing.
„People were criticising my performances, but they couldn’t know why I was struggling to perform.“
His father passed away suddenly but Knockaert’s teammates showed their solidarity when Steve Sidwell celebrated a winner against Bristol City in the Championship by holding aloft the player’s shirt before the squad attended the funeral.
„What happened on the day of the funeral is something I will never forget,“ he added.
„And it shows what an amazing club Brighton is and what great people I have had around me. I knew Bruno and the coach were coming over because Bruno, who’s been a great friend to me, called to ask for the address. I was really touched that the coach and the captain were going to be there to represent Brighton.“
Soccer Accumulator Bonus
Our fantastic Euro Soccer accumulator offer gives you the chance to earn a bonus of up to 100% on accumulators on the top domestic leagues in Europe along with the group and knockout stages of the Champions League.
This offer applies to returns on pre-match accumulators of 3 or more selections on Full Time Result or Result/Both Teams To Score markets for the English Premier League, Italian Serie A, Spanish Primera Liga, German Bundesliga 1 or UEFA Champions League.
The maximum bonus that you can receive is ˆ100,000 or currency equivalent. The bonus will not apply where a stake has been fully Cashed Out. Where a stake has been partially Cashed Out, the bonus will be calculated based .on the remaining active stake. If a qualifying bet is edited .using our Edit Bet feature. The bonus will be calculated based on the new stake. Where a bet has been edited to include or amend a selection for an event that is In-Play, the bonus will no longer apply. Double Chance bets or combination bets with bonuses. Such as Lucky 15’s or Lucky .31’s do not apply for this offer.
If your bet is successful, we will add the following bonuses to your returns:
Bet Type Bonus
14-folds and upwards 100% bonus
Terms and Conditions
Applies to straight pre-match accumulator bets on the Full Time Result or Result/Both Teams To Score markets for UEFA Champions League, English Premier League, Italian Serie A, Spanish Primera Liga, German Bundesliga .1 or Australian A-League matches. Maximum bonus ˆ100,000 or currency equivalent. Soccer Accumulator Bonus does not apply to Double Chance bets or combination. bets with bonuses such as Lucky 15’s, Lucky 31’s etc.
If any selections are postponed/void then the bonus will still apply, but the percentage bonus added will reflect the actual number of winning selections. For example, an 8-fold accumulator with 7. winners and 1 postponed match will receive a 30% .bonus to returns.
The bonus part of your returns will be added to your account within 24 hours of your final selection having played.
This bonus will not apply where a stake has been fully Cashed Out. Where a stake has been partially Cashed Out, the bonus will be calculated based on the remaining active stake.
If a qualifying bet is edited using our Edit Bet feature, the bonus will be calculated based on the new stake. Where a bet has been edited to include or amend a selection for an event that is In-Play, the bonus will no longer apply.
Where any term of the offer or promotion is breached or there is any evidence of a series of bets placed by a customer or group of customers, which due to a deposit bonus, enhanced payments, free bets, risk free bets or any other promotional offer results in guaranteed customer profits irrespective of the outcome, whether individually or as part of a group, bet365 reserves the right to reclaim the bonus element of such offers and in their absolute discretion either settle bets at the correct odds, void the free and risk free. bets or void any bet funded by the deposit bonus.
In addition bet365 .reserve the right to levy an administration charge on the customer up to the value of the deposit bonus, free bet, risk free bet or additional payment to cover administrative costs. We further reserve the right to ask any customer to provide sufficient documentation for us to be satisfied in our absolute discretion as to the customer’s identity prior to us crediting any bonus, free bet, risk free bet or offer to their account.
All bet365 offers are intended for recreational players and bet365 may in its sole discretion limit the eligibility of customers to participate in all or part of any promotion.
.
