Penultimate in National (French third division) with only two victories in eight matches played, the Orléans club is not doing well on the field. And an affair revealed by France Bleu Orléans could agitate behind the scenes. Indeed, Bernard Casoni, the club’s coach, formerly at Olympique de Marseille and French international (30 caps), is accused of racist remarks towards some of his players.
After discussing squad management which raises questions, France Bleu describes the words of the former central defender on September 21 on the eve of a match. The latter discusses the group’s difficulties in adhering to its values. “They have things they excel at. But there are things where it’s not enough. This is where you have to be more efficient, where you have to erase that. My role is to tell them, show them and help them solve problems. That’s it that’s all. I did it in all the clubs I went to, I did it with North Africans! They’re no more stupid than North Africans, eh… I mean, that’s the role of a coach.”
This phrase, “they are no more stupid than North Africans”, Bernard Casoni would be used to pronouncing it according to the media’s sources. An Orléans player even said that “we hear this phrase about North Africans every two weeks in training”. According to our colleagues, another player was shocked by a scene during training in August. “We were doing an exercise where two teams compete in five-on-five. My team consisted entirely of players of color. There, the coach says, ‘no need for bibs for them, they are already black’, supposedly in a humorous tone. It shocked me.”
According to another source from France Bleu, the winner of the Champions League with Marseille in 1993 asked, during the summer, to “clear his squad”. Questioned by France Bleu, the head of the club’s recruitment unit reacted. “Did the coach ask me to clear the squad? I can’t answer you. This sentence should not be taken out of context. We must not destabilize the club.”
Still for our colleagues, the Orléans coach defends himself. “My sentence about the North Africans at a press conference (“They are no more stupid than North Africans”) is to tell my players that they are as intelligent as North Africans,” replies Bernard Casoni. I worked there for six years and you think I’m racist?, before adding: I never asked to clear the squad, I just want there to be a balance in the team . A community should not be over-represented. If there are too many hoops, it’s not good. The same if there are too many Africans or too many whites.” This Monday, the Loiret club decided to launch an internal investigation.
