“Faced with racism, club presidents, coaches and players have a responsibility, to be neutral is to be complicit”

2023-10-21 15:00:04
Lilian Thuram, in the premises of her foundation, which works against racism, in Paris, October 17, 2023. JULIEN DANIEL / MYOP POUR “LE MONDE”

In 2023, racism is still rife in French football. In Vierzon (Cher), a black player was the target of racist invective during a Coupe Gambardella match, the equivalent of the Coupe de France for under-18s, on October 1. Ten days later, in Nancy, which hosted the Red Star during a National match (third division), monkey cries were heard in the stands, picked up by Canal+ microphones.

At the same level, in Orléans, coach Bernard Casoni is the subject of a preliminary investigation for provoking hatred or racial discrimination and for public insults of a racist nature. “ They are no more stupid than North Africans, eh…”he declared about his players, in a press conference, as revealed France Blue. Now suspended from his duties and summoned on October 25 for an interview prior to dismissal, the coach is also accused of having wanted “whiten” its workforce.

There is also the case of Olympique Lyon Sud (regional 1), where the majority of staff members and players left the team amid accusations of racism. A few cases publicized in the space of ten days for how much over the duration of a season?

Very committed to this issue, Lilian Thuram, world champion in 1998 with the Blues, chairs the foundation Education against racism. In 2020, the former Juventus Turin defender signed White Thought (Philippe Rey), an essay that goes back to the roots of racism. On October 7, he also published My Black Stars in pictures (with the collaboration of Pascal Blanchard, Editions de la Martinière, 296 p., €35). For his actions, Mr Thuram was twice awarded an honorary doctorate – an honorary title – in the humanities from Stockholm University, in 2017, and from the University of Stirling (Scotland), in 2019.

In 2008, the year you retired from sports, you created the Education Against Racism foundation. With what objectives?

We work in schools, colleges and high schools. We give conferences at universities. We also work with museums. My goal is for each of us to be able to reflect, question our conditioning, our own prejudices…

Recently, several incidents of racism have been publicized in French football, at amateur and professional level. Why do these behaviors persist?

I have the impression that we talk about racism superficially. As if it were an individualized phenomenon, of “not nice” people. No, it is a political ideology that has historical depth! Today, as in the past, public space is not experienced in the same way, depending on whether you are Black or White. For centuries, the world has been built on white supremacism, and everyone is aware of it. As proof, when I speak publicly, I ask a simple question: “Who here would want to be treated the way black people are treated in society?” » Nobody raises their hand.

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