US Orléans Fires Coach Bernard Casoni Amid Racism Investigation

"US Orléans announces the early termination of the employment contract of Mr. Bernard Casoni," the club officially announced in a statement, without giving further details. The coach had been suspended since October 10, after being the subject of a preliminary investigation for incitement to racial hatred or discrimination and for public insults of a racist nature, opened by the Orléans prosecutor’s office.

"Humanly, for me, it’s something difficult, because I think [...] that he is living it very, very badly, because, fundamentally, he is someone [...] who is not at all what we could feel through the clumsiness of his words. Humanly, it’s regrettable," said Philippe Boutron, the club’s president, when announcing the name of the new coach, Karim Mokkedem.

Casoni had stated in a press conference that his players were "no more stupid than Maghrebians". Several players and club members have claimed that the coach made similar remarks on several occasions. Two days later, the now former coach of US Orléans had apologized on the airwaves of France Bleu Orléans, acknowledging that he had made "inappropriate remarks" and claiming to be "anything but racist".

While Casoni has filed a complaint against an unknown person for slanderous denunciation, the National Ethics Council (CNE), considering his remarks "odious and unacceptable", has referred the matter to the federation’s disciplinary commission.