Prime Minister of France Manuel Valls believes Karim Benzema is wrong to suggest he was left out of Euro 2016 due to ‘racist pressure.’
The Real Madrid striker alleged in an interview with Marca that Les Bleus Coach Didier Deschamps ‘bowed’ to the far right in dropping him from the tournament squad, but Valls told the Press Benzema is mistaken.
“[His words] are not the correct view of France, because players are not selected on their skin colour or origin,” AS quotes Valls as saying.
“There are good players, there is a collective, there’s what every player shows and the Coach decides. Everyone should be proud of their origins, but players shouldn’t be selected on the basis of their origins and you can’t suspect Deschamps of doing so.
“[The World Cup in 1998] had more or less the same criticisms and the same comments. I’m not the Coach, that’s Deschamps, a formidable player who won it all and a very good Coach, and it’s he who chooses the components of the national team.”
