Patrice Evra speaks out on racist abuse and how to combat it
As one football club chairman has said, there is no such thing as an offensive tackle. That might be obvious to some, but it is the message Evra hopes his fellow footballers can learn from.
The Frenchman was speaking before Saturday’s Europa League final at the Nou Camp, two days after the Manchester United defender was subjected to racist abuse from sections of the Old Trafford crowd.
“I would never have written [a report] because I do not know what happened, I do not really want to know what happened,” Evra said. “But I think you are obliged to be able to tell people what happened.
“And when you tell people what happened, that’s when you can say whether it’s okay or not. And that’s when you do it, that’s when you show that you are a man, that you can stand up for yourself. I think that’s what our game has to do.”
Evra is a man, he has said his piece and now faces being accused of failing to do his job as a player, a role he says is “second to none”. The problem is, his job also involves performing the duties of an ambassador for a global football body while also being a player.
He is not alone in experiencing those pressures, though, and, according to the Guardian on Monday, the French Football Federation president, Jean-Claude Blanc, has said the club chairman should resign over the incident.
“I have to be very clear: if I had not come forward, if I had not sent someone to see [Evra], I would never have had an answer. I would have stayed in peace. I have my answer now but it’s not a positive one,” Blanc said.
“Somebody has to explain what the problem was. The problem is that there was a problem, but our institution has to explain to the world who this problem was, and I think it wasn’t him, it was other players. We are not going to lose our credibility, we are not going to lose our influence.”
Evra has told his version of the story in the past, and his current account differs from that of the club’s chairman, but he says he
