On the set of C à vous this Tuesday, January 11, Patrice Evra remembered his arrival in Italy when he was 18 years old. The ex-footballer, victim of racism, had a terrible meeting.
“To be born black in this world is a disadvantage”. On the set of C to you this Tuesday, January 11, Patrice Evra told a totally mind-blowing anecdote of his beginnings in the world of football. Already faced with racism in his youth, the former France team player had a terrible time when he signed for a third division club Sport Club Dilettanti Marsala 1912 in Sicily at the age of 18. year. As soon as he arrived at the airport, he was stopped by a young man. “I arrive and there I see this gentleman looking at me and asking me, in Italian, if it’s possible to take a photo. I say to myself: ‘Oh la la, I have just left my neighborhood and I’m already a star! ‘”, Patrice Evra remembered. But this meeting, he will never be able to forget it.
“We take the picture and the kid touches me, he didn’t understand, he thought I was dirty”, explained the companion of Margaux Alexandra, mimicking the person who tried to wipe his hand. An episode necessarily traumatic for the former player. “I always tell it with a smile, but racism exists. Me, I confronted it”, he added. The author of I love this game, a book in which he returns to the rape of which he was the victim when he was 13 years old, Patrice Evra has often stood up against the racism that reigns in the world of football. In 2020, he attacked in particular Noël le Graët, the president of the FFF. “Christmas, you know very well what is happening at the castle (de Clairefontaine, the residence of the Blues, editor’s note), how many racist letters we receive”, he assured on Instagram.
Patrice Evra: racism, “it’s not just in France”
“We even get boxes filled with poo”, revealed the former Olympique de Marseille footballer. This unfortunately topical subject, he spoke about it on numerous occasions. Including with football authorities. “It is not only in France, we also saw it during the last Euro in England. It’s in the world of football, we should not point the finger at France, but that’s how it goes, regretted Patrice Evra on the airwaves of France Inter. When Le Graët slipped by saying that racism did not exist when a black scored, everyone stood up, I put it in its place. He called me to say, ‘But Pat I thought we were friends’. I said to him: ‘President, you have to tell it like it is’. ” And that’s what he has been doing for many years.
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© France 5
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Patrice Evra
He was confronted with racism from his childhood
© France 5
4/12 –
Patrice Evra
He had a terrible time when he signed for a third division club Sport Club Dilettanti Marsala 1912 in Sicily
© France 5
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Patrice Evra
He was then 18 years old
© France 5
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Patrice Evra
He was arrested by a young man upon his arrival at the airport
© Federico Pestellini
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Patrice Evra
He had agreed to take a photo with him
© Backgrid UK
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Patrice Evra
But the little boy tried to wipe it off, thinking it “was dirty”
© Bruno Bebert
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Patrice Evra
He often spoke out about racism
© Agency
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Patrice Evra
He would like things to change
© CYRIL MOREAU
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Patrice Evra
He has already attacked football authorities
© Christophe Clovis
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Patrice Evra
The ex-player is still shocked by his meeting