Gotta love the French. They lead the fight for individual freedoms and equality!
9 April 2011 Last updated at 10:03 ET
French football body to investigate 'race quota' claim
France's football federation (FFF) is to hold an internal inquiry into claims its officials backed a secret racial quota for trainees.
Top FFF members are said to have secretly approved limiting the number of black and Arab trainees to 30% from the age of 12-13.
France's Sports Minister, Chantal Jouanno, asked the body to respond to allegations made by journalists.
FFF head Fernand Duchaussoy denied any such quota had been agreed.
Ms Jouanno promised to uphold guarantees of equal opportunities in sport.
"Discrimination has no place in sport, whether it's in the stands or in the training academies," she added.
Race became a sensitive issue in French football again after the dire performance of the national team at last year's World Cup in South Africa.
Controversial accusations circled in some quarters that the team, which had six black players, had mutinied in South Africa because of race.
The South Africa experience was in sharp contrast to 1998, when France fell head over heels in love with its multi-ethnic World Cup-winning team of "Blacks, Blancs, Beurs" - blacks, whites and Arabs.
'Segregation'
The French investigative website Mediapart broke the story about a supposed secret quota on Thursday.
Quoting "scandalised" sources within the FFF, it said the alleged directive from its National Technical Direction (DTN) had already been sent out to training academies.
Mediapart alleged that senior FFF members including national coach Laurent Blanc had approved the quota.
"The objective declared within the DTN, but undisclosable to the general public, is to limit - by filtering them right from the age of 12-13 - the number of French players of African and North African kind," the website said.
"A genuine segregation applied to football."
Commenting on the allegations, the sports minister said: "I take note of the French Football Federation's denial about the existence of such a policy and I invite it to very quickly shed light on the allegations in the article".
Blanc denial
Laurent Blanc strongly denied any plans for an ethnic quota.
"There is no plan to introduce quotas," he said in Bordeaux on Friday. "It's a lie to say that the France coach was involved."
He added that he had attended a meeting with federation officials in November but that the main item on the agenda was to "define a style of play and a training programme aimed at having the best results in five years".
Since he took over from Raymond Domenech after the World Cup, Blanc has often raised the problem of players with dual nationality, who benefit from French training academies before choosing to play for another country, the Associated Press news agency reports.
In Paris, Mr Duchaussoy denied "instructions, orders" about a quota had been given by the FFF.
"But then, in an informal discussion... I cannot be everywhere," he told reporters.
"There will be an investigation. What happened in a meeting, behind a door or in the corridors... I cannot vouch for everyone working at the federation. But I am confident [that there was no wrongdoing]."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13236864
9 April 2011 Last updated at 10:03 ET
French football body to investigate 'race quota' claim
France's football federation (FFF) is to hold an internal inquiry into claims its officials backed a secret racial quota for trainees.
Top FFF members are said to have secretly approved limiting the number of black and Arab trainees to 30% from the age of 12-13.
France's Sports Minister, Chantal Jouanno, asked the body to respond to allegations made by journalists.
FFF head Fernand Duchaussoy denied any such quota had been agreed.
Ms Jouanno promised to uphold guarantees of equal opportunities in sport.
"Discrimination has no place in sport, whether it's in the stands or in the training academies," she added.
Race became a sensitive issue in French football again after the dire performance of the national team at last year's World Cup in South Africa.
Controversial accusations circled in some quarters that the team, which had six black players, had mutinied in South Africa because of race.
The South Africa experience was in sharp contrast to 1998, when France fell head over heels in love with its multi-ethnic World Cup-winning team of "Blacks, Blancs, Beurs" - blacks, whites and Arabs.
'Segregation'
The French investigative website Mediapart broke the story about a supposed secret quota on Thursday.
Quoting "scandalised" sources within the FFF, it said the alleged directive from its National Technical Direction (DTN) had already been sent out to training academies.
Mediapart alleged that senior FFF members including national coach Laurent Blanc had approved the quota.
"The objective declared within the DTN, but undisclosable to the general public, is to limit - by filtering them right from the age of 12-13 - the number of French players of African and North African kind," the website said.
"A genuine segregation applied to football."
Commenting on the allegations, the sports minister said: "I take note of the French Football Federation's denial about the existence of such a policy and I invite it to very quickly shed light on the allegations in the article".
Blanc denial
Laurent Blanc strongly denied any plans for an ethnic quota.
"There is no plan to introduce quotas," he said in Bordeaux on Friday. "It's a lie to say that the France coach was involved."
He added that he had attended a meeting with federation officials in November but that the main item on the agenda was to "define a style of play and a training programme aimed at having the best results in five years".
Since he took over from Raymond Domenech after the World Cup, Blanc has often raised the problem of players with dual nationality, who benefit from French training academies before choosing to play for another country, the Associated Press news agency reports.
In Paris, Mr Duchaussoy denied "instructions, orders" about a quota had been given by the FFF.
"But then, in an informal discussion... I cannot be everywhere," he told reporters.
"There will be an investigation. What happened in a meeting, behind a door or in the corridors... I cannot vouch for everyone working at the federation. But I am confident [that there was no wrongdoing]."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13236864
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