Star forward Karim Benzema and rejuvenated winger Hatim Ben Arfa were left out of France’s Euro 2016 squad despite impressive seasons with their clubs. PHOTO: AFP
Cantona stirred up a hornet’s nest last week when he claimed that France coach Didier Deschamps was guilty of racial discrimination in his selection, comments that French football chief Noel Le Graet on Saturday dubbed as “stupid” and “pathetic”.
“In this time of trouble and division, I would have liked all of the France that I love and dream of to be represented in this France team. Football for me is a fantastic way of integration and should serve to unify and unite,” said Cantona in a column published in Le Journal du Dimanche.
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“We missed this chance by not selecting Benzema and Ben Arfa, two of the best French players. Firstly, I think that from a sporting point of view it’s a mistake and then, this European Championships, which moreover is in France, is an extraordinary opportunity to send a clear message to the extremists.”
The Manchester United legend continued: “I’m neither linked to any party nor the puppet of any ideology. I’m atheist. I am and always will be a free man. For those who’d like to make believe that I’m spouting anti-white racism, my response is one of contempt.”
Cantona told British daily The Guardian on Thursday that Deschamps had snubbed Benzema and Ben Arfa because of their “north African origins”.
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A day later, Deschamps’ lawyer said that the France coach would be suing Cantona for slander over his comments.
Cantona, who won 45 caps for France between 1987 and 1995, has in the past been very critical of his former teammate Deschamps, whom in 1996 he branded a “vulgar water carrier”.
The exclusion of Benzema, of Algerian descent, follows his implication in an alleged attempt by one of his friends to blackmail international teammate Mathieu Valbuena over a sex tape.
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Ben Arfa, of Tunisian origins, had been hopeful of making the squad after relaunching his career at Nice but instead had to settle for a place on Deschamps’s standby list of eight players.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 30th, 2016.
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