Ordinary racism for some, trial of intent for others. The Orléans criminal court is required to rule, this Thursday, on the racist nature or not of a sentence pronounced by Bernard Casoni in public on September 21, 2023. “They are no more stupid than North Africans, eh…”, had said the ex-International about his US Orléans (National) players during a pre-match press conference.
This media outing precipitated the dismissal of the 1993 European champion, prosecuted for public insult of a racist nature by the prosecution which then took action. The person concerned will not be present at the hearing. Having been stationed for two months at SC Gagnoa, an Ivorian second division club, he nonetheless remains convinced of his innocence.
Supported by Basile Boli
He says he simply made a comparison, without any ulterior motive, between his players and those he was able to coach during the 2000s or 2010s in Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco. Although he ended up recognizing “inappropriate comments” after several days of controversy, he continues today to defend himself against any racism.
“We are in the world of football. When he says no more stupid than North Africans, he is referring to the teams he has coached. He could have said no more stupid than Auvergnats or Bretonsit would have been the same,” argues his lawyer Me Emmanuel Douad.
The latter intends to plead for release on the basis of press law. He also plans to rely on messages of support placed in the file. Among them are these words in Le Parisien by Basile Boli, his friend and teammate in the 1990s in the Marseille city. “Caso, racist? I don’t think so. On the contrary, he would rather tend to favor the Blacks and Arabs with whom he grew up in his neighborhood, near Cannes. »
The trivialization of racist words, according to the civil parties
On the opposing side, Bernard Casoni’s statement is purely and simply “ordinary racism”. “The question is not whether these comments were made by a racist person or not, but whether this person made objectively racist comments. In this case, this sentence aims to essentialize an ethnic group, to which we attribute a lesser capacity for understanding,” summarizes Me Guillaume Traynard, who represents the associations SOS Racisme and Sportitude, constituted as civil parties just like Licra. “This trivialization of remarks is a great classic,” he continues.
When the facts were revealed, France Bleu Orléans published a broader investigation into the behavior of Bernard Casoni, who risks up to a year in prison and a fine of 45,000 euros. Five players spoke on condition of anonymity to denounce openly racist thoughts on the field or in the locker room. Several leaders from Orléans but also from Valenciennes – a club coached by Casoni in 2014-2015 – came to corroborate this picture.
Thursday’s hearing is not the only legal procedure linked to this case, which the FFF also took up. The former central defender filed a complaint against X for slanderous denunciation and seized the industrial tribunal to protest against the early termination of his employment contract. So, says his defense, that “his honor is cleansed”.
