Accused of racist remarks, former French international Bernard Casoni, coach of the US Orléans football club who has since suspended him, apologized Thursday for “inappropriate comments” but said he was “anything but racist “.
“I am anything but racist. I was able to make inappropriate comments,” explained Bernard Casoni, 62, on Thursday morning on France Bleu Orléans, who had revealed his comments earlier in the week. “Of course it shocks, I understand that. (…) I apologize for having hurt people, it’s not in my nature,” added the former player with 30 caps for the French team, notably with OM before leaving. retrain as a coach.
The affair broke out with the broadcast on Monday by France Bleu Orléans of a statement from the coach of National (3rd division) affirming that his players “are no more stupid than North Africans”.
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“I did it in all the clubs I went to, I did it with North Africans! They are no more stupid than North Africans, eh… I mean, that’s the role of a coach,” he said during a press conference on September 21, the day before a match against Châteauroux, in which he spoke about the adherence of his squad to his game plan.
France Bleu Orléans, citing several players and members of the club, specified that Bernard Casoni had made other comments of the same nature on several occasions. Targeted by a preliminary investigation for provoking hatred or racial discrimination and for public insults of a racist nature opened by the Orléans public prosecutor’s office, Bernard Casoni was suspended by his club on Tuesday.
The former French international filed a complaint against X on Wednesday for slanderous denunciation, his lawyer Didier Lacombe told AFP.
