French national team coach Laurent Blanc has been cleared of racism by sports minister Chantal Jouanno following insufficient evidence that anti-discrimination law had been broken during a meeting of the French Football Federation that discussed the possibility of introducing an ethnic quota on France's academy system, limiting the space available for players of African and Arabic descent. Ms. Juanno believes that since the matter was only discussed rather than implemented no rules were actually violated:
Laurent Blanc Cleared In French Football Federation Racism Row
There is nothing leading to say that Laurent Blanc is backing discriminatory practices.
Laurent Blanc was attending this kind of meeting for the very first time. He did not have any project, no fixed opinion. There is nothing to suggest that Laurent Blanc condones discriminatory guidelines.
This is hardly going to quieten down the racism allegations around the FFF - the conversation did happen and was every bit as misguided and uncalled for as it sounds. The fact that no rules were actually broken doesn’t really make racism any less racist. Technical director Francois Blaquart remains suspended pending an FFF investigation.
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