A simple joke triggered a torrent of racist insults. On Monday, Nicolas Pépé pointed out the shameful comments that fell on him after his participation in a Just Riadh video. During a sequence, the Algerian videographer and the Ivorian footballer gently discussed the results of their respective selections.
“We have three stars and you (Algeria) only have two,” laughed the Villarreal winger. But watch out for the Moroccans, they are there. How many stars do they have? A ? They must have won that in 1818, we weren’t born, even my daron wasn’t born. » The willful exaggeration – the Atlas Lions won the CAN in 1976 – of the ex-Lille player was enough to generate a wave of hatred.
“Racism has no place”
“I come back to the controversy around my video with Just Riadh and my comments on Morocco, Pépé had to justify himself in Story on Instagram. We were laughing together, we were laughing since the start of the day, making jokes about everyone. Sorry if my words could have been misinterpreted and misperceived by you, Moroccan supporters, because in the video, before my words, I underline the difficulty that it will be to face them during this CAN (1h26m). We are all together, the African continent obliges. Strength to all and F* racism. »
“Stay strong, racism has no place,” he wrote again. In his misfortune, the former Arsenal was still supported by many footballers, such as Pape Gueye, Lamine Camara or Khéphren Thuram. It remains to be hoped that the insults will not be repeated when Côte d’Ivoire sets foot on the Moroccan lawns during the group stage of the African Cup of Nations.
