What did the Groundsman Say to Set Off Patrice Evra?
By: Laurie | April 30th, 2008
“Idiot” or “immigrant”? Which is the worse insult?
It all depends on who you ask.
Why does it matter? Because when you’re talking about justification for a fight, one is a racial insult, and one is just some gardener spouting obscenities at the guys on his grass.
“It is understood that the United players warming down with Evra heard the words “you’re just a f***ing immigrant” said to the French left-back. Chelsea’s position is that the ground staff were misheard and the actual words used were ‘you’re just a f***ing idiot’.”
As is to be expected, Manchester United is going with “immigrant” and playing the race card. (Patrice Evra is French, but was born in Senegal.)
United’s players insisted from the start that a racist comment was the cause of the fracas. Sources close to Evra asserted this early on Sunday and that position was supported by the striker Carlos Tevez, who said he had “never seen anything like this in my two years in England”.
Chelsea, on the other hand, are claiming the offending word was “idiot,” which is, of course, race-neutral and equal-opportunity offensive.
“My understanding is it is not a racist issue,” said [Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck.] “As far as we are concerned it is handbags at 10 paces. It is now a matter for the FA and their investigation. It has gone beyond the mediation stage as far as the clubs are concerned.
“We have nothing more to say about it.”
Whatever else comes out of this, I’m thinking the resulting inquiry will tell us one thing for sure: Which word you don’t want to say to Patrice Evra.
(Previous Offside posts on this incident are here and here.)
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Tags: Chelsea, English Premier League, Manchester United, Patrice Evra, players behaving badly, World FootballSubscribe
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Comments
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Either is possible I guess. I suppose the Man United players should have respected the groundsman’s wish to warm down away from where he was cutting the grass, and the Chelsea groundstaff should never have been having a go at the Man United players, however twattishly they were behaving
Posted from
United Kingdom
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Maybe the grouds staffs just saw this poll…..
…..and decided they’d do the world a favor and go one up by punching the actual players.
Posted from
United States -
Chris: Ronaldo I can see. Rooney too. Ferdinand as well. Even Van der Sar is kind of annoying.
But Evra? He’s just a little teddy bear. How could anybody want to punch Patrice Evra?
Posted from
United States -
You aren’t allowed to make judgment calls on Frenchmen, Laurie.
Posted from
United States -
The groundskeeper asked Evra if he had any Grey Poop on.
:rimshot:
Thhhank you. Please, remember to tip your waitress.
Posted from
United States -
Nice piece of journalism here.
I am not willing to believe that the Chelsea fucking Fulham Road groundsman would have — in the slightest toss of a moment’s hairsbreadth of a nano-seed of Kentucky Bluegrass — ever have thought of the word ‘idiot’ in that context … much less used it.
No chance.
Posted from
United States -
I really believ Patrice Evra needs to be provoked to get this type of reaction from him. I’ve seen him insulted whren he was at Monaco and he just brushed it off. I don”t particularly like Manchester but i’m sticking with my senegalese brethren
Posted from
France -
too bad it had to be the only ManU player i’ve ever liked. . .
Posted from
United States
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