Coupe de France: "unacceptable racist insults" during the Lille match in Ajaccio

"Renato, go pick up some cotton!"

This is how Renato Sanches, the black Portuguese player from Losc, indicates that he was arrested on Sunday by pseudo-supporters of Gazélec Ajaccio.

The Lille club, leader of Ligue 1, denounced this Monday “unacceptable racist insults” uttered Sunday against “some of its players”, by several “individuals” gathered on the sidelines of a Coupe de France match, in Ajaccio, against Gazélec Football club.

"At the end of the meeting between his team and GFC Ajaccio (N 2, 4th division) (...), Losc learned with dismay of repeated racist insults to which some of its players were victims, insults from of several spectators gathered near the field of the Ange-Casanova Stadium ”, laments the club in a press release.

Despite the Covid, spectators very close to the field

Denouncing "unreservedly" these "unacceptable racist insults", the northern club "also regrets that these behaviors, however visible and audible of the players in the match, did not give rise to any intervention on the part of the organizers".

Asked by AFP, the communication of the Corsican club had no declaration to make for the time being.

Le Losc is also surprised that these individuals "were able to meet only a few meters from the field (...) in defiance of sanitary rules".

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The Portuguese midfielder of Lille Renato Sanches had mentioned in a post on Instagram, Sunday evening, "racist comments" against him, without saying explicitly if the facts had taken place in Corsica.

In the caption of photos taken during this match won 3-1, he congratulated himself on the "victory" and his "decisive pass", adding: "for all the racist comments, we continue to laugh", in English, then to conclude in French with this formula: “#Renato will pick up cotton”.

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A post shared by Renato Sanches (@ renatosanches18)

The meeting was played behind closed doors but a handful of supporters attended the match, installed high up behind a fence on the edge of the pitch.

It is on this side that Sanches, entered on the hour mark, delivered his decisive pass for the 2-0 goal.

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"In order to help fight against such acts, which is the duty of all, always, Losc will make available to the French Football Federation and GFC Ajaccio all useful content in its possession to take the measures that" they deem necessary, ”concludes the club's press release.