“Dirty bastard.” It is with these words that Islam Slimani, the Algerian striker from Brest, said he was treated by the Clermontois Johan Gastien, Sunday, October 23, during the meeting won by the Bretons in Auvergne (3-1), during of the 12th day of Ligue 1. Comments that the captain of Clermont Foot denied in the mixed zone after the meeting.
Islam Slimani maintains that he suffered racist insults during Clermont-Brest. “It’s serious these days to be treated like a dirty bastard. I’m not crazy, I’m not going to accuse wrongly”#SB29 #DZfoot #CF63SB29 pic.twitter.com/uOQtQze4LR
— Nicolas Blanzat (@nblanzat) October 23, 2022
During the first half, Islam Slimani approached the fourth referee to report what he deemed to be racial slurs, before saying more in the mixed zone. “I’m proud to be Algerian. If, with all the cameras there are, we get insulted as ‘dirty blokes’, that’s serious.thundered the former OL striker in the corridors of the Gabriel-Montpied stadium. The most important thing is our victory. But it’s the captain. It’s serious to hear that again because there are a lot of African players who play with him.”.
For his part, Gastien denied these accusations. “I don’t really want to talk about it but there are not only intelligent people on the ground, that’s how it ishe reacted. It’s unfortunate coming from a guy who has 500 professional matches, it bothers me a bit. He says a lot of things but what reassures me is that there are colleagues from Brest nearby who tell me that he is not quite clear either.
On the verge of tears, at the end, Johan Gastien denies having called Islam Slimani a “dirty Arab” (“bledard?”) during Clermont-Brest. “He says a lot of things, I am calm in my skin. I would never say that in my life” #CF63SB29 #SB29 #DZfoot pic.twitter.com/79kZlyPjG1
— Nicolas Blanzat (@nblanzat) October 23, 2022
“I’m calm in my skin. I didn’t say ‘dirty Arab’ to him, never in my life would I say that. The problem in this story is that I’m going to look like an idiot. I know what I’m saying But when it’s him who insults, it’s always easierretorted the Clermont environment. Every game is a bit like that. That’s the game. I know what happens next on the networks, but I don’t have a short memory and I’ll be able to remember it at some point. I’m touched, honestly”.
Relaunched on the denials of Johan Gastien, the Brest player rose up. “If it’s not true? I’m not crazy. I’m not going to say that. I’ve been in Ligue 1 for two or three years, I’ve never said that. It’s normal for people to say that’s not true. I think it’s serious racist stuff like that in Ligue 1”he concluded.
[A noter que les deux joueurs ne s’accordent pas sur le terme. Islam Slimani a lui-même évoqué successivement “sale arabe”, puis “sale blédard” ; Johan Gastien a parlé uniquement de “sale arabe”.]