He spoke on various subjects… Heard this Thursday at the National Assembly by a commission of inquiry responsible for identifying operational failures within the French sports federations, Didier Deschamps was notably questioned on the hot news, and more precisely on the incidents which marred the Olympico last Sunday. “These are horrific images, which have no place in a sporting setting or even in everyday life. We have to make sure that doesn’t happen again. Today, unfortunately the sporting sphere and in particular football is a reflection of our society, he declared in comments reported by RMC Sport. With the addition of a media resonance which has a much greater impact. It happened, unfortunately. The public authorities, the clubs, must do everything to ensure that this does not happen.”
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The Blues coach also had to answer questions related to racist acts which seem to be more and more numerous in the world of football in recent times. “Throughout my career, I have been in many locker rooms, but I have not been confronted with this behavior in my sporting activity. But I’m not going to tell you that there is no racism in football,” he said. He also indicated that he was in favor of “heavier” sanctions against perpetrators of racist acts. “I think we have to go through this, but at all levels there are responsible people who must make this type of decision. It’s their responsibility,” he said.
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During his hearing, Didier Deschamps also had the opportunity to mention Karim Benzema, and more precisely the tag of his house in Brittany in 2016 which occurred following the non-selection of “Nueve” for the Euro . “I don’t know if the tag on my house is linked or not to the non-selection of Karim Benzema (for Euro 2016, editor’s note), I don’t know who the author is,” he declared .
He then returned to the non-participation of the 2022 Ballon d’Or at the World Cup in Qatar, who had left the Blues after an injury. “As far as selecting or not selecting a player. I am coach of the France team and I select players who have French nationality. And my choices are sporting choices. I don’t know if this is the place to retell the story of what happened in Doha, but from the moment I spoke out…” he said.
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Still regarding the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, the ex-midfielder spoke about the rainbow armband that certain selections had considered wearing before giving it up. “We were abandoned before this World Cup because the responsibility belongs to the authorities, and therefore it was the free decision of everyone. […] The decision to hold the World Cup in Qatar was taken before I was coach or Noël Le Graët,” he insisted.
Finally, “DD” addressed its future. And while some gave him the ambition, ultimately, to become president of the French Football Federation, he responded clearly, without ambiguity. “I can’t answer you, because I won’t be (president of the FFF, editor’s note). I am fulfilled because I made my passion my profession, but having a different role, more political, less close to the field, is not at all my desires nor my skills,” he assured.