After the first round of their Federal 1 quarter-final, the Chartrains described a large number of racist incidents against them. The Salles club did not wish to comment on the case.
The first leg of the quarter-final of Federal 1 for the climb to National 2 between Salles and Chartres would have taken place in conditions deemed deleterious by the Chartrains. According to the players and members of their management, a large number of racist insults were said to them. And for assistant coach James Zié, these racist insults were even uttered by members of the technical staff of Salles. “I often pass in front of the opposing bench when I enter their field, he explains. The first time, I heard myself being told by one of the trainers that I was not here in my city. The other explained to me that he did not know that blacks trained in rugby. We are unfortunately used to this kind of event, but when it comes from the bench opposite, it is extremely shocking.
Physical trainer Nizar Ben Abderrahmen and forwards coach Redouane Bousseta followed the match in the stands. “The spectators could see that we were part of the technical staff with our headsets, says Nizar Ben Abderrahmen. And there, quietly, people tell you: “Go home Sarassin!” We were treated to all the classics of the genre, with references to safari. Salles’ cameraman, who was my age, felt sorry for us. He even turned around twice to defend me. Obviously, this does not concern the whole stadium, but it happens in a form of general indifference.”
Later in the second half, Redouane Bousseta, who had moved to follow the match along the handrail, would have been shouted at several times. “A granny told me that we were still a funny team, he says. There was no hate in his attitude, but it’s amazing to be confronted with this situation. And as often, cries of monkeys were launched from time to time”. Directly on the field, players said they heard identical remarks. “Go home, Kirikou!” “Come and have a beer Muslim!”will say one of them who wishes to remain anonymous.
“Black and Disabled”
Faced with these testimonies, the leaders of Salles decided to observe silence and not to comment on the affair. On social networks, after a message from the Chartrains against racism posted on their Facebook page, supporters of Salles commented on their astonishment. “We have not heard such comments”, they said in substance, condemning this initiative. The leaders of Chartres sent a letter to Patrick Buisson, the federal vice-president in charge of amateur rugby, to warn him of the situation.
“I was not at the game, but the words of my players and of James Zié are strong and sincere, commented President Thomas Louis. We even told one of our players, who has an atrophied arm, that he was black in addition to being handicapped. No doubt this is part of certain codes to put pressure, but it is not possible to tolerate this kind of thing on the stadiums. That we are stigmatized by saying that we are billionaires and mercenaries is already stupid before being false. But that racism is involved in this masquerade, I do not accept it. For our part, after these incidents, we posted a message to say that we will expel from our enclosure anyone who is guilty of this kind of remark. No one has to justify their presence in rugby or elsewhere on the pretext that they are black or Arab.”
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