Former Manchester United skipper Patrice Evra has been fined €1,000 for homophobic insults by the Paris police court, according to a report from L’Equipe. On March 6th 2019, Manchester United eliminated PSG from the Champions League last 16 on their turf thanks to a last minute penalty by Marcus Rashford. It had been a crushing disappointment for Les Parisiens who won the first leg 2-0 at Old Trafford. In a video posted on Snapchat, Evra loudly celebrated the Red Devils’ qualification and was heard shouting: “Paris, you’re f*****s ! You’re f*****s ! Here, the men are speaking.”
Following Evra’s outburst, two charities that combat homophobia and discriminations towards sexual orientation, Mousse and Stop Homophobia, filed a complaint againt the former France international for “public insult towards a group of people because of their sexual orientation”. The judge reclassified the facts as “non-public insult” and referred the case to the police court, considering that Evra had “expressed himself in a private setting for the making of a video which was then posted on Snapchat without his knowledge.”
On December 15, the prosecutor requested a fine of €1.500, including €300 euros suspended, considering that it was the “responsibility” of Evra, as a “media personality” to “hold a civil and respectful discourse”. Jérôme Boursican, the lawyer of the former Manchester United player, pleaded that the latter had not “wanted to harm the homosexual community”, arguing that his client had published an apology video the day after, and thase his remarks were only aimed at PSG. Evra was also ordered to pay €1.500 in damages to the two charities as well as €1.000 each, for legal fees.
GFFN | Bastien Cheval
