I share the pain of all of France: Evra

BLOEMFONTEIN: France captain Patrice Evra promised that his disgraced and humiliated World Cup team would not risk further public anger by claiming lucrative cash handouts.

But the Manchester United defender, dropped for the final match of his country’s doomed campaign, pledged not to hold back on revealing the inside secrets of how France’s World Cup fell apart in a storm of resentment and rage.

“I share the pain of all of France. Tonight is the time for apologies. It’s an apology that could have been made yesterday, but I was banned from doing so by the coach,” said Evra. “Now is not the time to settle scores. All of France will have the time to have explanations for this disaster. I will give them. I will talk about what has happened. I will tell the truth. I have nothing to hide.”

The Manchester United star refused to admit that the strike on Sunday, described as “unspeakably stupid” by Domenech and which saw the players refuse to train, had been a mistake.

“Our pain wasn’t exaggerated. We communicated our reasons for what happened. Tonight [Tuesday night] I was dropped from the team without a valid reason. These are difficult times.”

Published in The Express Tribune, June 24^th, 2010.