That part is, an endless debate about what is and is not racist, isn'tOriginally Posted by Razors left peg
Its very relevant to this thread if the one of the front runners for our national team job has this sort of stink hanging around him
Its really not that complicated!!!
That part is, an endless debate about what is and is not racist, isn't
With all respect - this is relevant - if Sagnol is a possibility as Ireland manager, then his racist outlook is very much part of the discussion - and it is important that people understand that. It is no less important that the fact that Neil Lennon had threatened and intimidated a woman he had a relationship with.
And by the way - there are many racists and far-right individuals (and individuals who come from a far-right family background) in football and we don't know who could pop into the frame. Trapattoni had links with the Italian far-right - the family of Benetez had links with Franco's regime - Mourinho's family had links with Salazar's fascist regime. Spanish football, in particular, is riddled with far-right influence. Laurent Blanc has made racist comments - Aragonés is a known racist - Busquets made racist comments to Marcelo - John Terry is another - and we have the most recent stuff from Barton.
Amazing how some people are prepared to admit they don't have enough facts to form a 100% certain view of things but for others they are unburdened by doubt.
I'm done with the non debate.
Sagnol has been a professional in the public eye as both a player and manager for almost 30 years, aside from that one poorly communicated comment in 2014 which he apologised for has there been anything whatsover throughout those years that would indicate he has a "racist outlook" or "far-right" tendencies? Anything at all?
People here need to come to grips with the idea that he may have spoken thoughtlessly in the moment and without consideration for how it could have been viewed as offensive and accept his apology for what it is, rather than it being some kind of mask off moment for a guy with no track record of anything of the sort. The haste at which people have reached for comparisons between him and the likes of Ron Atkinson or Joey Barton is completely unhinged.
In fairness I don't think anyone here is supporting a racist or giving a racist the benefit of the doubt.
I think the rebate boils down to whether you buy his "clarification" or not. I personally don't buy it. But if you do buy it, then you are of course not a racist, that's just your opinion.
I think it was a racist statement and I think his response was crafted by professional advisors.
Let's be perfectly clear - he NEVER apologised - saying he spoke with a 'lack of clarity' and 'imperfect semantics'. Sagnol described African players as 'cheap', 'ready for combat' and 'powerful on the field' - but you needed the Nordics (the archetypical Aryans) for 'technique, intelligence and discipline' - there is zero lack of clarity here and semantics has nothing to do with it.
These comments cannot be taken out of context of what was happening in Bordeaux at the time. Bordeaux owes its wealth to the French slave trade and always has had an undercurrent of racism in the city. In 2014 the Front National were making a big push to win the mayoral election in Bordeaux - a city traditionally dominated by the Gaullists and somewhere the FN thought they could make significant inroads. The FN challenge fell flat on its face and, like many other racists in the city, Sagnol was venting racial prejudice against, particularly, the sizeable Morrocan and Algerian community in Bordeaux.
I will repeat once again what I said above - if Sagnol was really sorry for his comment he would have said 'I acknowledge that the comments I made were racist - I am sorry - I am committed to opposing racism and I support the activities of SOS Racisme and other anti-racist groups' - but he didn't do that (just like Lennon failed to apologise for threats against a woman he was in a relationship with). And when there was uproar in Ghana when Sagnol was pretty much a shoo-in for the manager's job - he once again made zero effort to address the issue.
There is a reason why Sagnol couldn't get a job from 2017 until he was hired by Georgia in 2021.
Last edited by Jolly Red Giant; 25/03/2024 at 9:55 PM.
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