After the world knew that France manager Didier Deschamps wasn't going to take Karim Benzeman and Hatem Ben Arfa to the Euros, French legend Eric Cantona made some unfortunate statements. He said that Deschamps' decision had to do more with race than anything else. The manager's attorney has already confirmed that he will take legal action against Cantona, but the story doesn't end there.
France Football Federation president Noel Le Graet, was outraged by Cantona's comments: "I find his comments stupid. It is totally inappropriate on the eve of the Euros. Deschamps is a rigorous, frank, rightful and honest man. Everybody would have been upset with such an accusation. This is a pathetic attack. There have never been any doubts about Deschamps' morals throughout his career. I cannot even imagine Deschamps' decisions are based on anything else than sporting reasons. He does not deserve to be treated like this."
It seems very unlikely that looking at the France roster, Didier Deschamps made his final list based on a race thing. Granted that the two players are devoted Muslims, both of their exclusions from the Championship were made purely out of a professional and technical stand point. Unless Cantona takes back his statement, he will have some very ugly problems with the law.
Photo credit: Equipe de France