French Football Chief Downplays Racism Amid Neymar-Gonzalez Controversy

20 September 2020 – byJérôme · 1 min read

The Spanish defender of OM, Alvaro Gonzalez, is accused by Neymar the Brazilian striker of PSG, of having made racist remarks during the match that opposed them on Sunday, September 13. This is not the case, replies the president of the French Football Federation.

Interviewed by BFM about the dispute between Neymar and Alvaro Gonzalez, here is Noël Le Graët’s answer: "We have less than 1% of difficulties. There have been some, but you know, when a Black scores a goal, forgive me, the whole stadium is on its feet. So very frankly, the racist phenomenon in sport, and in football in particular, does not exist".

In his wake, former French international Olivier Rouyer retorts on the L’Equipe channel: "With this guy, there is never a problem in football, it’s extraordinary, alarming. There is no homophobia, there is no racism, there is nothing at all. Football is as white as snow, it’s extraordinary".