25,000 euros fine, 15,000 of which suspended. The Orléans criminal court convicted Bernard Casoni this Thursday in first instance for racist insult. “They are no more stupid than North Africans, eh…” said the ex-International about his US Orléans (National) players during a pre-match press conference in September 2023.
The former defender of Marseille and the French team, absent during the hearing in mid-November, will appeal, his lawyer Emmanuel Daoud confirms. He faced up to one year in prison and a fine of 45,000 euros.
“My client does not accept the conviction because he denies having made comments of a racist nature. This does not correspond to his personal and professional background, as a former player and educator, nor to his family history and his values,” indicates Me Daoud.
Bernard Casoni believes he simply made a comparison, without any ulterior motive, with the footballers he was able to coach during the 2000s or 2010s in Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco. He simply ended up recognizing “inappropriate comments” after several days of controversy.
This procedure is not the only one linked to this affair, which the FFF also took up. The former 1993 European champion with OM filed a complaint against X for slanderous denunciation and contacted the industrial tribunal to contest the early termination of his employment contract.
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