Present at the National Assembly this Thursday, Lilian Thuram deeply regretted that certain leaders like Noël Le Graët obscure the problem of racism in football.
Two days after Noël Le Graët, Lilian Thuram was heard by parliamentarians in the National Assembly. For a week, sports figures have been speaking one after the other, heard by the Commission of Inquiry relating to the identification of operational failures within French sports federations. And the tone of the former world champion was very different from that of the ex-president of the French Football Federation. Particularly on the issue of racism.
“ The racist phenomenon hardly exists in the world of football », Launched the Breton leader, provoking strong reactions. Comments that he defended before parliamentarians. “ I have always made sure that the little ones are together in football schools, that everyone who can join a (training) center, whatever their color, can play, he explained. I have always been close to Africa. Thanks to FIFA, I have an African function. I reject the racism aspect. Today, the most serious problem in football is undoubtedly the fights between supporters…”
Unsurprisingly, Lilian Thuram once again regretted this blindness. “If racism is denied at the very top of the scale, it’s very complicated. When I hear these things, I see it as contempt. You are denying what some people are going through, he was indignant. When we talk about the president of the FFF saying that, millions of people are affected, violated. It is violence to say that there is no racism. You say that people who denounce racism are liars. »
