Returning to Lyon ten years after his departure, Dejan Lovren found himself stuck in a dirty business from the start.
Video in support, the Croatian defender was accused of having resumed with the midfielder of Inter Milan Marcelo Brozovic a neo-Nazi song, the day after the third place obtained by his selection at the World Cup in Qatar .
Asked about the subject on Thursday, OL coach Laurent Blanc had mentioned "a nationalist song for the liberation of his country".
Lovren advanced the same arguments Friday, in an interview with AFP.
“I already explained all this in Croatia about this video on YouTube but it was not taken up in France, launched the 33-year-old central back.
For me, it's a patriotic song that relates to my country, which means that I love my country.
The song we are talking about is not
Za dom Spremni
but
Cavoglavé
who is not fascist at all.
It goes back to the liberation of the country and the glory of Croatia that we all sing to celebrate a happy event.
My country fought for its independence, obtained very recently, and is still under construction.
»
This is former @LFC defender Dejan Lovren & @intermilan player Marcelo Brozovic singing 'Za Dom Spremni' (For homeland - ready).
It's a salute used during World War II by the Croatian fascist Ustaše movement.
It was the Ustaše equivalent of the Nazi salute "Sieg heil".
https://t.co/tkoz4RjWmJ pic.twitter.com/xzGvh0wQjq
— Smajo Bešo (@SmajoBeso) December 19, 2022
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“It has nothing to do with fascism,” continued Lovren, who had already passed through Lyon from 2010 to 2013. “It is not good that my stay has started like this.
I respect everyone.
The first person who congratulated me after the World Cup is Novak Djokovic who is Serbian, a country where I have many friends.
But I was attacked.
We distort in an immediately negative way without referring to the right song.
»
“I also supported Black Lives Matter”
The former Liverpool player has several times taken positions that are not really favorable to LGBT people.
Asked about the subject, he assured that he was fighting all forms of discrimination.
"I have taken a lot of stand, especially for Fifa and UEFA, against discrimination, racism with in particular support for Moïse Kean of Juventus or recently Samuel Umtiti, as well as for the rights of refugees, "said Lovren. .
“I also supported the Black Lives Matter movement.
I have always thought that discrimination has no place in the world of football and now I am being attacked on this subject.
As on LGBT, there was never a problem and I never had a problem with all these subjects.
In Lyon, ten years ago, I also helped the foundation through several operations against discrimination”.
The Croatian hopes to return to Ligue 1 on Wednesday in Nantes.
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Soccer
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Olympique Lyonnais (OL)
Dejan lovren
World Cup 2022
Croatia
LGBT movement
Racism