Paris (AFP)
Involved in three cases of sexual assault, the columnist of the Canal Football Club (CFC), Pierre Ménès, will not participate in the Sunday show, according to information from the Team confirmed on Tuesday by Canal + to AFP.
The encrypted channel did not give an explanation for the programmed absence of its star columnist, in the turmoil since the revelations that occurred on the sidelines of the broadcast of Marie Portolano's documentary on sexism in sports journalism, on March 21.
According to L'Equipe, "the columnist sent an email Monday to the sports management to indicate that he did not wish" to participate in the program presented by Hervé Mathoux, hitherto on hiatus due to the absence of championship matches, and "that he needed a rest".
"Nevertheless, the management of Canal +, which launched an internal investigation last Thursday, did not intend to bring Pierre Ménès back to the CFC stage this week," assures the sports newspaper.
Pierre Ménès is strongly criticized for having lifted Marie Portolano's skirt in front of the CFC audience in 2016 before, according to the journalist, grabbing her buttocks, and for having forcibly kissed journalist Isabelle Moreau and columnist Francesca Antoniotti on television. .
Passages from Marie Portolano's documentary, where the columnist is confronted with the first two cases, were cut from the version broadcast on Canal +, accused of censorship.
Pierre Ménès, who reiterated Monday his "sincere apologies" for his actions, was excluded last week from the famous football simulation game Fifa of which he was one of the star commentators.
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