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Kylian Mbappé on the missed penalty against Switzerland
Photo: MARKO DJURICA / AFP
The French football world champion Kylian Mbappé briefly considered resigning from the national team after his missed penalty in the lost round of 16 of the European Championship against Switzerland last year.
This was reported by association president Noel Le Graet in an interview with the newspaper "Journal du Dimanche".
"He found that the association hadn't defended him after his missed penalty and the criticism on the internet," said Le Graet: "He was angry, he didn't want to play in the French team anymore," it said.
But the reason was different, Mbappé now wrote in relation to Le Graet's interview.
“I explained to him that it was about racism and not about the penalty.
But he didn't think there was any racism," one tweeted.
Mbappé did not give any further details.
His tweet spread rapidly on the social network – also to support Mbappé's accusation.
Some users shared screenshots of racist slurs hitting the superstar after his missed penalty.
That penalty had sealed the almost sensational knockout round of world champion France at the 2021 European Championship.
Mbappé was the only one of ten shooters to miss the penalty shoot-out against Switzerland from the point.
Le Graet had already come under criticism in September 2021 after declaring that racism in football “does not exist or hardly exists”.
A few months earlier, in July, the Paris public prosecutor announced that they were investigating racist messages against players from the French team after the European Championship.
Le Great now wants Mbappé's thoughts of resignation to have been correctly understood
In the current interview, Le Graet does not mention that Mbappé's resignation was about racist insults.
He said instead that the attacker was very frustrated with the end.
"He's a winner," remarked the association boss: "He's a great guy, much more collective than you think." The young star had already reported in "L'Équipe" in October that he was thinking of taking a break in the national team have.
Le Graet has now responded to Mbappé's tweet - without explicitly addressing the allegation of racism.
He told RMC Sport that he understood Mbappé's message: "I agree with him and there is no problem with Kylian.
I've always had a deep connection to his personality.«
jan/dpa
