“If there is a homosexual in this locker room, let him leave the club”

Patrice Evra conceded a interview in Le Parisian in which he spoke about his past in football relating such sensitive issues as homosexuality and rape that he suffered when he was a teenager. The Frenchman, as usual, was most sincere. So much so that he left some sentences for history. “It goes against my religion, if there is a homosexual in this locker room, let him leave the club,” he says one of his teammates said when he was a member of the Premier. He also talked about PSG, whom he praised, despite being from Marseille. Mbappé and Messi also came to light.

“I was 13 years old and I stayed with that weight all my life. When I was 24 years old and still playing against AS Monaco, the police called me and said: “Mr. Evra, has this man touched you?” I said no. He insisted: “Are you sure? I said no, I got angry and hung up. There had been complaints from other children… I felt like a coward. I was ashamed. I thought more about my notoriety, about what people were going to think,” he acknowledges. Years later he narrated everything in detail in his autobiography book. He was already prepared.

The subject of sexuality is another problem that Evra deals with naturally. “When I was in England, someone was brought in to talk to the team about homosexuality. Some of my teammates said: ‘It’s against my religion, if there’s a homosexual in this locker room, let him leave the club.'” And other types of comments . At that point, I said, “Shut up. Are you realizing it?” I played with players who were homosexual. Face to face, they opened up to me because they are afraid to speak in another way. There are at least two players per club who are homosexual. But in the world of football, yes You say it, it’s over,” he acknowledges.

The Frenchman is also concerned with the fact of fame, the notoriety that comes suddenly when you are young. “It’s difficult because you have nothing and suddenly with all that money. They are not prepared psychologically. If you tell the clubs to bring in a psychiatrist, they will close the door on you. The players do not have any help and that is the problem. players from Paris who are extorted, go to restaurants where people tell them: “You pay the bill or we break your legs”. “We always talk about the problems in Marseille, but do you know how many players in Paris are afraid to go out to eat?”.

“It’s hard, because even when you’re successful, you come back to the neighborhood and they see you as an outsider. All these friends saying, ‘You’re family…’ You become an enemy. I almost lost an eye because I came back and someone was talking about me.” admits. Now, at 40, he sees everything differently…