While the disciplinary commission continues the investigation of the altercation between Neymar and Alavaro Gonzalez to try to know if the Marseillais has indeed treated of "mono" (monkey in Spanish), the president of the French Federation, Noël Le Graët, has been heavily criticized for downplaying the role of racism in football.
Former PSG striker Fabrice Pancrate (40), new beIN Sports consultant, agreed to comment on the situation by sharing his experience.
The former Parisian Fabrice Pancatre, here in 2009. LP / Matthieu de Martignac
How did you receive the words of Noël Le Graët who affirms that racism “does not exist or does not exist” in football?
FABRICE PANCRATE.
It is a speech to ease things and get rid of the problem.
But in truth that does not attenuate anything.
The facts are there every day.
In society or in football, racism has existed since the beginning of the world.
To say that is to lie to yourself.
There are people who experience racism every day.
At work, in the field, in everyday life.
For those who have been through this, this kind of statement is out of place.
Have you directly witnessed racism on a field?
We have had enough examples in stadiums in Spain, Italy, Greece to see it ...
But between players?
I think it happens.
Remember the story between Evra and Suarez
(Editor's note: at the start of 2012 the Uruguayan striker from Liverpool Luis Suarez was suspended for 8 matches for throwing "nigga" to the Frenchman)
.
Unfortunately, it does exist.
I also experienced it when I played in reserve with Louhans-Cuiseaux in a championship match in Saint-Georges-les-Ancizes.
A defender called me "dirty nigga".
I had turned around: a whim.
He had finished on the ground, I had taken 5 games but there you go.
It is a reality but in fact nobody says anything, does nothing.
People assimilate.
We put a penalty and come on, let's go.
Until you shock people in drastic ways ...
In the Neymar - Alvaro affair, the problem stems from the difficulty of providing proof of what happened ...
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What I can say is that a player, when he goes off his hinges, it is not for nothing.
So what is the nature of the insult?
I do not know.
But like Zizou's header against Materazzi, we can guess that virulent words came out of the mouth of the person.
After, knowing if it's racist or intimate, we should be able to dissect the images.
But for Neymar to react like that is that it is probably more than insulting.
Insults are a reality on the ground?
It's part of the game, yes.
When you have a strong player and his opponent doesn't have the technical means to thwart him, he still has the verbal part to try to strike a chord and get him out of his game.
The problem is that some insults matter depending on the context and your mood.
Words like this, you've already used them even to have fun with friends on the field in training or in the locker room when you want to sleep.
But for sure it has more importance and negative impact when it comes out of the mouth of a white person towards a black person.
Is it the same abroad?
I do not remember that a player took me to task on this subject.
But when I had played at Betis Sevilla
(Editor's note: Spanish L1)
, as the club was poorly classified, we could have been the subject of racist insults from our own supporters.
A small group miming antics and swinging bananas on the ground.
It had marked me.
What do you expect from this Neymar - Alvaro affair?
If there is any evidence, we must mark the occasion.
But you can't accuse someone without proof.
Today if there are no major elements to prove all this, it is as if you were filing a complaint against X. Only Neymar and Alvaro know what was said.
Should Neymar have reacted more strongly?
It would perhaps have been necessary from half-time to make a complaint and with its strength, PSG immediately put pressure on the referees by saying it is unacceptable, we do not resume the match ... It would have put the things to the direct clear.
It's like Marega, the Porto player who suffered racist insults, and who left the field.
Maybe Neymar should have left the pitch if he really wanted to score.
After the reaction of a Brazilian and an African is not the same.
The Brazilians think of the game, the game, the game and then they see.
While we, African players, also think about the game but as we are often the target, at one point, we go crazy.
