The accusations made by Didier Digard against Toulouse midfielder Aaron Donnum do not pass within the TFC.
Le Havre may well have won a good point on the Stadium lawn (0-0), Sunday, on behalf of the 10e
day of Ligue 1, Didier Digard was an angry man after the match. The fault lies in the altercation between his player Simon Ebonog and Norwegian TFC midfielder Aaron Donnum, the latter waving his hand in front of his nose after being one-on-one with the young Le Havre player.
“I don’t want to talk about football, it’s not the center of my life. I am a human being above all. What I saw today is intolerable, he lamented at the Ligue1+ microphone. If we say it’s not racism, what is it? Is this just telling my player he stinks? Can we say things like that when we’re just here to play football? It shows the problem of society in France. »
Questioned in the mixed zone, Aaron Donnum tried to defend himself. “It’s very crazy to say that. I think they want to come to me and fight. The first thing I feel is his breathing. I do it like this (he mimes a gesture in front of his nose) because it smells bad. It has nothing to do with racism. I don’t understand why they say that, he was surprised in comments relayed by L’Equipe. This isn’t the first time I’ve done this. I’ve done it before. My partners have already done it too. It’s very uncomfortable to have to explain this, I don’t know what to say, I feel sad. »
For Toulouse, this is not a racist gesture
But sadness quickly gave way to anger in the Toulouse ranks. This is evidenced by the press release published by the club. “The Toulouse Football Club condemns in the strongest terms the unfounded and particularly serious accusations made against Aron Donnum, as well as the exploitation of the gesture in question,” started the TFC.
“Nothing can justify such allegations, which undermine the integrity of the player and the image of our club. The club reserves the right to take any action necessary to defend its player and the reality of events, he continued. The Toulouse Football Club is deeply committed to the fight against all forms of discrimination and works daily for respectful, inclusive and exemplary football, on and off the pitch. »
The club’s president, Olivier Cloarec, also regretted that his player needed to justify himself, believing that it was in no way a racist gesture.
