FRANCE: French soccer chiefs have approved proposals to limit the number of black and Arab players coming through their national training programs to 30 per cent, according to a report. The influential Mediapart website claimed top management at the French Football Federation, including France manager Laurent Blanc, secretly discussed and approved ''unofficial discriminatory quotas''. ''For the top brass in French football, the issue is settled: there are too many blacks, too many Arabs and not enough white players in French football,'' the website claimed.
Last edited by lefty; 04-29-2011 at 03:40 PM.
What if you're mixed like me. I guess they would have it put a number on your black/arab content. If you're 1% black/arab or just black/arab looking, you're out. They would want all white players if they could but they are hoping for another Henry
That got nothin on Italy though
LOL Italy
Mandatory LOL Italy
WF? Pretty moronic if true.
LOL France
LOL white French boys not being able to compete
They should just accept they blow and embrace the minorities in their system, after all their best players are minorities: Zidane (former), Nasri, Benzema, Malouda, Anelka, Evra, Sagna, Clichy... lol, without them the French national team would be atrocious.
lol at thinking this is true...
The stroy is about the double nationality issue. They are a lot of players trained in federal french structure with double or triple nationality who can change of NT, idea was to try to limit that by just investing state money on potentials who will play for France.
Lookslike the allegations are true
That's kind of racist too.lol at thinking this is true...
The stroy is about the double nationality issue. They are a lot of players trained in federal french structure with double or triple nationality who can change of NT, idea was to try to limit that by just investing state money on potentials who will play for France.
I'm not surprised.
lol France
Why assume this is true? A lot of bs in this article.
there were no "french soccer chief" or "top brass in french football" in that meeting.
Nobody approved anything
France great Lilian Thuram 'hurt' by ongoing racism row and dismisses dual nationality problem
By Jerome Pugmire, The Associated Press – May 1st, 2011
PARIS — Former France great Lilian Thuram feels "hurt" that his former teammate Laurent Blanc and members of the French Football Federation may have agreed to limit the number of black and Arab players in national training programs.
French football has been plunged into turmoil after investigative website Mediapart reported that Blanc and senior figures in the federation approved proposals to limit to 30 per cent the number of players of African and North-African descent in training academies once they reach 13 years of age.
"Of course you feel hurt, of course," Thuram said Sunday on French football show Telefoot. "You tell yourself that it's a perpetual (cycle) to always cast doubt on people with regards to their colour and religion."
Thuram played alongside Blanc and playmaker Zinedine Zidane in a team that became a national icon after winning the 1998 World Cup and European Championship in 2000, prompting politicians to hail its multi-ethnicity from the rooftops.
"Some people have short memories," Thuram said.
FFF technical director Francois Blaquart has been suspended pending an inquiry into the claims, which included a transcript of a conversation involving Blanc, Blaquart, under-21 coach Erick Mombaerts and under-20 coach Francis Smerecki in November.
Smerecki is the only one quoted as speaking out vehemently against the quota proposals, calling them "discriminatory."
French sports minister Chantal Jouanno wants a probe into the allegations to be completed by the end of next week.
"I hope, once again, that we will get some good news ... that all of this was a nightmare and it wasn't true," Thuram said. "I fear that it's true and that we're in the middle of something very serious."
Blanc maintains that those present were merely raising the issue of dual nationality that sees players profit from France's training academies before deciding to play for the country of their origin.
"That 26 players out of 30 who go through (the national training academy at) Clairefontaine then join a (different) national team, does that not shock you?" Mombaerts told L'Equipe's website. "We've put together national infrastructures that serve others."
Thuram distanced himself from Blanc and Mombaerts by refuting that theory.
"First of all it's a false problem because the best players will be taken on by France. The others, who won't be kept on, will naturally go and play for other countries," Thuram said. "It's the France team which is given priority. The ones who go on to play for another country are the ones France didn't want."
Thuram cites the current France team as an example.
"(Karim) Benzema plays for which country? (Samir) Nasri plays for which country?" Thuram added. "So all of this is a false problem from the outset. When you have the wrong idea from the beginning, you end up giving the wrong answer."
Jouanno said the dual nationality issue is dangerous because "you then spill over into the issue of people's origins."
France midfielder Alou Diarra defended Blanc.
"Laurent Blanc is not a racist. I don't see anything racist in his comments," Diarra said on Canal Plus television. "I see a frustrated (national team) coach."
Diarra turned down an approach to play for Mali earlier in his career.
Thuram, who has campaigned against racism, feels French society still harbours long-standing prejudices.
"When will we emerge from this cycle? When will we escape from these prejudices about skin colour?" Thuram said. "When will we understand that it's not because you're black that you run faster than someone else? It's not because you're black that you're less intelligent than someone else."
The former leader of the far-right National Front party, Jean-Marie Le Pen, shocked many in Europe by reaching the runoff of France's 2002 presidential election on his anti-immigrant, anti-EU platform.
His daughter, Marine Le Pen, has taken over as National Front leader and is expected to run in the next election. She has also adopted an anti-immigration stance.
Federation President Fernand Duchaussoy, meanwhile, maintained there is no approval of quotas within his organization.
"It's neither our philosophy nor our culture," Duchaussoy said on Telefoot.
Instead, Duchaussoy said, there could be a Machiavellian plot against Blanc within the FFF.
Under Blanc, France has started winning again and — up until last week's allegations — had successfully restored its image in the eyes of fans following last year's World Cup debacle in South Africa under former coach Raymond Domenech.
"You can have doubts about what's happening. You can imagine that because the France team is playing pretty well and (has) restored a certain image," Duchaussoy said. "Maybe, in a way, there is an attempt to destabilize the France team."
But former France midfielder Jean-Michel Larqué fears that French football is now mirroring the rise of the far-right.
"Talking about quotas, about (Arabs), about (blacks), about people who take advantage of France to go and wear the jersey of another country," Larqué told RMC radio on Sunday. "Football doesn't escape from the Le Pen-isation of society."
Why is it that the only white boys that could compete are from Spain? Spain always has the token Black, Asian, or Latino on the team though, but all of their superstars are ethnic Spanish though. I think France needs a better system of developing and encouraging local white talent to step up to the plate, kinda like Spain. I'm pretty sure that in Spain you have millions of youth practicing the moves of Villa, Iniesta, Xavi, and being influenced by them. Kinda how an African American team from the US in the summer of 92, influenced a nation forever of the beauty and poetry that is Basketball.
England, Argentina, Germany, Netherlands, Italy, etc.
This post is stupid on other levels as well.
Oh really??
England's white boys= haven't won since 66.
Argentina= their s haven't won since my ass was born and Mr. hand of God was last in shape.
Germany = Their goofy Aryan asses haven't won since the destruction of the Berlin wall.
Netherlands= The Dallas Mavericks of World Cup soccer.
Italy = Can't argue with you about Italy, they have taken care of business in the past( 4 les) and up until recently, with the majority being ethnic Italian.
Funny you left off France?Because their *1998 World Cup le clearly belongs to the African nations that Zidane and Henry descend from.
I left it out France because it's pretty obvious that it is the subject of the thread. In any case, a quick wiki search reveals this:Funny you left off France?
Malouda, Abidal, Vieira, Gallas, Makélelé, Henry, Thuram....yeah, that starting lineup vs. Italy in 2006 was 75% black.
Last edited by ALVAREZ6; 05-02-2011 at 01:53 PM.
just wait till Ghadafi opens the floodgates of Africa.
The 98 France team should have won the African Cup of Nations.Funny you left off France?
They got robbed, ing FIFA and ing technicalities
how so ?
It's like a nba club spending money to develop a player and the guy signs with another team (see Ian M). What do you think about the club who spent the money and trained the guy ?
That was not a clever investment.
Now imagine money coming from your tax payments spend on a young player to see him play for another country. thats pretty dumb.
The whole story is not about racism but just investing wisely the state money.
Thats a funny post. Why would it be important to encourage local white talent ??? doesn't make sense.
Zidane and co are french born and raised in France.
Because the Local white talent is "France". They're the founding genetic fathers of the French people. We in the US are spoiled because we live in a heterogeneous society of many cultures and ethnicities. We could cheer for whoever we want and it wouldn't make a difference because we are all mixed. genous societies, like France, (which is down to 60% of ethnic French) really benefit if they start seeing some of their own making it big in Soccer again. I mean, come on, the French have lacked confidence ever sense Napoleon took over France.
It doesn't feel the same I guess. Picture that you are the ruler of a genous society. You enter a contest to win a trophy of some kind, but instead of sending your home grown talent, you send some super jacked freak athletes from a different country, or they are only part of that ethnicity. I guess victory and relatedness doesn't feel the same as when a group of your "good ole ethnic" boys wins it. I think it's a message (by the French people) to all the all French ethnic white boys, to stop being pussies and to man the up. That's what it comes down to!
The US is only 12% black but the USA basketball team is entirely entirely black. I doubt you'll see a movement in the States encouraging young tall white boys to 'man the up' and play basketball
Well, if the 100% Fench players didnt suck so much, bi-national players who decide to play for the country of their parents wouldnt be such a problem
We're still friends, Brazil, right?
Right?
Football chiefs accused of setting racial quotas
French football chiefs were accused Thursday of using secret quotas to limit the number of Black and Arab players in training programmes. French national team coach Laurent Blanc denies allegations that he supported the quotas.
By Carla WESTERHEIDE (video)
Sophie PILGRIM (text)
French investigative website Médiapart published a report Thursday that claimed to reveal a system of racial discrimination against young football players in national training programmes. Citing sources from within the French Football Federation (FFF), the website reported that academies had been asked to recruit no more than 30 percent of their players over the age of 12 or 13 from among Blacks or Arabs.
Médiapart, which became famous for leaking evidence concerning the Woerth-Bettencourt L’Oreal heiress scandal in 2010, says that its journalists were made aware of the alleged quota by “internal sources at the FFF [who are] scandalised by the process”.
Médiapart says that “numerous” sources told them of a meeting of the FFF’s National Development Programme (DTN) on 8 November 2010, when the secret quota was proposed. According to the same sources, French national team coach Laurent Blanc responded favourably to the proposition, citing Les Bleus’ Spanish counterparts – the current world champions – as a team “that doesn’t have any problems and doesn’t have any Blacks”.
According to Médiapart’s report, the proposal was approved in early 2011 and instructions have already been sent to training academies and schools, notably the French national centre at Clairefontaine.
"Odious and racist su ions": national team chief press officer Philippe Tournon speaks on behalf of coach Laurent Blanc.
The president of the FFF, Fernand Duchaussoy, immediately denied the allegations, saying he had “never heard anything about it” and that “it would be totally abnormal for that to be going on”, in an interview with AFP on Thursday.
Coach Blanc also denied the claims in a message via Les Bleus’ chief press officer, Philippe Tournon. In an interview with FRANCE 24 on Thursday evening, Tournon said that Blanc had rejected the “odious and racist” suggestions, insisting that “this idea of quotas holds no water at all”.
Prayer mats and Halal off the menu
According to Médiapart, this is not the first time players of foreign origin have been discriminated against. The website reports that, in 1997, young North African players had their bags searched by DTN officials, allegedly to check that they were not carrying prayer mats. It also reported accounts of DTN officials referring to Muslim players as Islamists or Saracens.
André Merelle, former head of the French national training centre at Clairefontaine, said on Thursday that the DTN had tried to reduce the number of players of African descent in the early 1990s. “There was no official quota policy at the time," he told RDC French sports radio. “But a reflection about the numbers of Blacks and Arabs. According to [DTN officials] … there were too many.”
Former Marseille president Pape Diouf, who is Black, told RDC on Thursday that he was not surprised about the allegations. “The truth is the following,” he said: “French football is a reflection of [French] society. French football is racist.”
Trouble ahead
Blanc has already been accused of courting controversy since taking on the role of French national coach last summer. One of the first things he did as boss was to ban Halal meat from players’ meals.
He has often and openly complained of dual nationality players who choose to play for another country after being trained in France.
Spokesman Tournon attempted to shift the focus onto this issue when defending Blanc in an interview with AFP on Thursday. “One of the problems evoked by Laurent Blanc is the double nationality issue, namely when players who benefit from a three-year stint in a French national training centre then go abroad and play for other teams," he said. "But to reduce that to an article headlined ‘There are too many Blacks and Arabs’ is simply unbelievable. And it's not going to sit well with Blanc.”
France's minister of sport, Chantal Jouanno, demanded answers “without delay” from the FFF in a statement on Thursday, saying that she acknowledged the federation’s denial but that they must “very quickly shed light on the article's allegations”.
Médiapart, meanwhile, claims to have irrefutable evidence to back its allegations that it says it will reveal in the coming days.
How so? I think it's pretty clear how so. What you said is that the French federation will try to limit his investments to French players only, therefore discriminating the rest of the kids that live in France. Federations shouldn't make that kind of distinction they should just treat every child the same way. It shouldn't matter what nationality a kid has. Imagine if Barcelona would have done the same to Messi 'cause he isn't Spanish.
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