Didier Deschamps to pursue defamation lawsuit against Man United legend Eric Cantona

Les Blues coach Didier Deschamps plans to sue Eric Cantona over allegations of racism levelled against him. Deschamps has instructed his lawyer to pursue legal action against Cantona whose recent comments were regarded to be objectionable, malicious and highly injurious to the coach’s reputation.

Deschamps lawyer Carlos Brusa told L’Equipe: “I will initiate action before the civil and criminal courts to punish these slanderous and defamatory comments that infringe impermissibly on Mr Deschamps’ integrity.”

On Thursday 26th of May, the former Manchester United footballer who is notorious for the controversies he causes on and off the pitch claimed that Nice star Hatem Ben Arfa and Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema’s ethnicity may have a role to play for their exclusion from the French squad.

Cantona’s Comments

While the exclusion of Benzema, who is a Muslim of Algerian descent has shocked fans, it was perhaps more due to his off-field problems. Benzema was recently questioned by the police regarding his alleged involvement in the sex tape controversy with Valbuena. Nice’s Hatem Ben Arfa, whose father was Tunisian, was supposed to be largely a wild card entry into the French squad after years of absence from the international scene and his sudden revival in a Nice shirt.

Both players being of North African descent, Cantona made the allegation.

“Benzema is a great player. Ben Arfa is a great player,” Cantona told The Guardian. “But Deschamps, he has a really French name. Maybe he is the only one in France to have a truly French name. Nobody in his family mixed with anybody, you know. Like the Mormons in America.”

“So I’m not surprised he used the situation of Benzema not to take him. Especially after Valls said he should not play for France. And Ben Arfa is maybe the best player in France today. But they have some origins. I am allowed to think about that.”

Cantona was hesitant to be direct about Deschamps whom he derogatorily refered to as a “muppet”, on whether the exclusion was racially motivated or not, but he dropped broad hints as to what to he thought. “Maybe no, but maybe yes. Why not? One thing is for sure – Benzema and Ben Arfa are two of the best players in France and will not play the European Championship. And for sure, Benzema and Ben Arfa, their origins are north African. So, the debate is open.”

Deschamps Refuses to Dignify the Allegations with an Answer

Deschamps however is yet to comment on the situation as he has been avoiding the questions and the limelight surrounding this latest development. Unfortunately for Cantona the racist allegations have little or no basis since 12 players out of the 23 players Deschamps has picked for the Euros (approximately a little less than 50% of the squad) have mixed origins in th,e French squad. Diarra, Matuidi, Kante, Pogba, Martial, Coman and a whole host of players comprise of the mixed origin contingent in the 23 man squad for France.

Cantona has been a very vocal proponent against racism as he has spoken extensively on the immigration crisis in Europe as well as the Charlie Hebdo controversies that had taken France by storm. However Cantona is frequently also been known to confuse racism with a number of things. His infamous “kung fu kick” on Crystal Palace supperter Matthew Simmons was later rationalised as a “literal attempt to kick racism out” whereas Simmons was merely heckling the Frenchman and shouting abuses at him, abuses that will not be commonly be interpreted as racial slurs.

Deschamps’ France saw a number of surprising exclusions which raised quite a few eyebrows. Notable senior players like Valbuena and Ribery were shown the door along with younger stars like Lacazette, Schneiderlin, Umtiti, Rabiot and Europa League winner Kevin Gamiero are on the stand by list for the tournament. It is worth noting that two of the four names mentioned in the stand by list have also a “really French name”.