“Go cut bananas, move your butt sales”, suspicion of racist remarks during a football match in Haute-Garonne
Players of African origin from US Toulouse were allegedly victims of racist remarks in Baziège. A sports investigation is underway. The two clubs, in complete disagreement on the facts, are already considering legal action.
“I refuse to cast shame on the club. They try to pass us off as racists! If necessary, we will go to court to restore the truth”, insists Guillaume Moreau, the president of Baziège. OC. His football club has been in turmoil since Samih Bentaha, his US Toulouse counterpart, posted a long video on social media. This business manager, who combines the functions of player and manager, denounces the supposedly racist behavior of a fraction of Baziégeois supporters.
The date back to Saturday, January 8 in the evening. US Toulouse travels to Baziège to face team 3 of the Lauragais club. According to the words of Samih Bentaha, the atmosphere becomes tense quickly: “One of my colored players falls heavily to the ground after a nasty foul. From the edge of the field, someone shouts to him “move your dirty buttocks”… J “Manage to calm my teammates in order to prevent it from ending in a fight. At halftime, I go to see the referee to complain about the behavior of our hosts. He gives them a warning but it doesn’t change anything. Things only got worse.”
A few minutes from the end of the meeting, it was one incident too many for Toulouse. Another player of junior origin in the team collapses on the lawn after a strong tackle. The footballer is slow to get up. The club manager recounts the following: “The Baziège coach’s wife yelled at him: ‘Go cut some bananas’. That was too much. We all decided to leave the field before the referee signaled the end. We couldn’t accept that kind of insults.”
Totally opposite version of the facts
Guillaume Moreau does not subscribe at all to this version of the facts: “I conducted my own investigation. I questioned a lot of supporters who attended the match, people I trust. Their testimonies corroborated perfectly , no racial slurs were uttered.”
The club manager specifies that a supporter of Baziège did say to an opposing player “Move your buttocks” but without using the adjective “dirty”. Regarding the incident that closed the meeting, he is even more categorical: “The coach’s wife did indeed touch herself at that moment. She shouted at her son who was on the field, crippled with cramps that he should have eaten bananas to avoid them… At no time did she utter racist insults to the opposing team.”
The district of Haute-Garonne, the sports body, does not depend on the two teams, took charge of the case. At the beginning of February, the Disciplinary and Disputes Committee will study the file. Me Olivia Betoe, the lawyer for US Toulouse, promises to file a complaint directly with the public prosecutor for public insults of a racist nature whatever the conclusions of the disciplinary committee.