And Marcus Thuram broke down again.
In the 100th minute of the round of 16 second leg between Atletico Madrid and Inter Milan, the French international (16 caps, 2 goals) was guilty of an obscene gesture.
In the duel with the opposing defender Stefan Savic when the ball was not even in play on a throw-in, Lilian's eldest son grabbed the private parts of his direct opponent with both hands.
An action without direct consequence, the referee of the match Szymon Marciniak having absolutely not flinched, neither at the time nor afterwards without any intervention from the VAR.
But unfortunately, it is the image of the French striker from Inter Milan which is damaged.
Deschamps: “A move not to be made”
Quite simply because this is not the first time that Marcus Thuram has been guilty of this type of gesture on the pitch.
On December 19, 2020, on the sidelines of a Bundesliga match between his former team Borussia Mönchengladbach against Hoffenheim, the 23-year-old striker spat in the face of his opponent of the day Stefan Posch.
The verdict was clear: five matches of suspension and a somewhat tarnished image, in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“I learned my lesson.
People who know me on a daily basis know that this is not the boy I am.
I am smiling, happy, and frankly when I see these images, I don’t recognize myself,” Marcus Thuram defended himself at the microphone of TF1 at the time.
This gesture from Marcus Thuram on Stefan Savic 😬#ATMINT |
#UCL pic.twitter.com/5csmq4NQad
— CANAL+ Foot (@CanalplusFoot) March 13, 2024
A reprehensible act, but above all incomprehensible for his club that year.
“We have known Marcus, his parents and his entourage for a year and a half and his actions are not like him at all,” explained Max Eberl, the general manager of Borussia.
Four years later, when the international tricolor had made a place for himself in blue in the number 9 position and had put aside this dark passage in his career, bad behavior resurfaced again.
A gesture that always surprises a young man known, wherever he went, as someone in a good mood and without problems.
“He was caught, there were no consequences, the two players laughed about it on the pitch, but Marcus knows it, it’s a gesture not to be made,” explained Didier Deschamps on Thursday at subject of his player selected among the 23 for the two preparation matches for the Euro against Germany and Chile on March 23 and 26.
⚽️ #CDD
❌ Borussia M'Gladbach sanctioned Marcus Thuram after his spitting!
pic.twitter.com/bpNokIRV4c
— beIN SPORTS (@beinsports_FR) December 20, 2020
From Sochaux, to Guingamp, via Germany and Italy, his image was rather that of a player anchored in a collective.
It remains to be seen whether these cracks will play a role