Paris (AFP)
The coach of the France team Didier Deschamps, accused by Karim Benzema of having yielded to "a racist part of France" after his non-selection at Euro-2016, will "never" forget this episode which has left a painful "trace", he said on RTL on Saturday.
The current Real Madrid striker has not been called to the Blues since his indictment at the end of 2015 in the case of sextape blackmail exercised on Mathieu Valbuena, for which he was recently sent back to correctional.
"Deschamps gave in under the pressure of a racist part of France", had accused Benzema on June 1, 2016 in the Spanish press, two days before the Breton residence of the coach was vandalized, with a tag calling him "racist" .
"It's a trace. Even if over time it calms down a bit, I cannot forget. It is not related only to Karim Benzema. There are statements from other people who also brought to this violent fact and which affects my family, "Deschamps told RTL on Saturday.
The boss of the 2018 world champions assures us that he accepts all the criticisms of his "choice of coach" but "there, it crosses the white line. It affects my name, my family. For me, it is unacceptable".
“Saying certain things necessarily leads to verbal or physical aggression. I suffer the consequences. We cannot forget. I cannot forget. I will never forget,” he said.
On the eve of Euro-2016, Eric Cantona had declared in a British daily that Benzema and Hatem Ben Arfa were not selected because of their origins.
Last December, Deschamps' defamation complaint was declared void on procedural grounds, but the manager had to appeal, according to his lawyer.
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