Football: Zidane defends Blanc in quota row

Urges national coach Laurent Blanc not to resign over a racial quota row which has thrown the game into turmoil.

PARIS: Former France great Zinedine Zidane has urged national coach Laurent Blanc not to resign over a racial quota row which has thrown the game into turmoil.

Blanc, a teammate of Zidane when France won the 1998 World Cup, is under pressure after attending a football federation meeting in November where reports say the idea of quotas for Arab and African youth players was discussed.

“We must leave things as they are, it would be crazy if he left because of this. Blanc is certainly not racist,” said  Zidane.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 9^th, 2011.