Monday, February 13, 2023 – Patrice Evra has reacted to his criminal conviction for making homophobic comments in 2019, insisting that the ‘vulgar language’ was normal while he was growing up.
The ex-France and Manchester United star filmed an expletive, homophobic rant towards Paris Saint-Germain in the wake of their Champions League defeat versus Manchester United in 2019.
After United’s 3-1 victory, Evra reportedly went to dinner in Paris with a friend of Paul Pogba, who asked him to send a mocking video to a PSG fan.
The Snapchat video sparked outrage across France and prompted two anti-hate organisations – Mousse and Stop Homophobia to complain in March 2019.
Evra attended a police interview and last Thursday received a collection of fines in court. He picked up an initial fine of $1,000 (£890) and was ordered to pay $2,000 (£1,780) in compensation to the two anti-hate campaign groups.
‘I’m hurt because this doesn’t represent me,’ Evra told The Times this week. ‘Yes, I used vulgar language because when I was growing up this was normal. It makes me think I have so much to learn but I will keep learning.
‘The police were laughing because they know I didn’t use the words [to be offensive]. They say we don’t have to pursue the case because we know who Patrice is.
‘It was a private message, I used words that were used when I was a kid. It was the way I grew up.’
Despite his criminal conviction, Evra claimed that the complainants were ‘picking a battle with the wrong guy’.
It was a private message, I used words that were used when I was a kid. It was the way I grew up. The problem is you have to adapt. It is a new world. I apologised straight away because I could see I offended people,’ he continued.
‘For four years they fight but they are picking the battle with the wrong guy if you see what I have done all my life, which is to accept everyone for who they are.
‘It’s painful because it’s not who I am. I have to pay those two associations and I hope they are going to use the money for good things but it is not just about the money, it’s about me being in this situation when I am not that person.
‘I made a mistake. In my youth it was not a mistake and now it is. Since that incident I have never used those words.
‘I have acknowledged the homophobia problem in the football world so it’s really crazy for me to get this bad press for something I did four years ago.
‘It was not because I meant it, I just used those words. I offended people, I apologised many times.
‘I lost the case, and I paid them and I am fine with that. But I am not fine with people trying to describe an image I am not.’
Following Thursday’s conviction, the complainants’ lawyer, Etienne Deshoulieres, released a statement saying: ‘The homophobic remarks of a personality like Patrice Evra fuel hatred and violence against LGBT people, in particular in countries where homosexuality is criminally repressed, like in Senegal, the country where Patrice Evra comes from.”
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