Didier Deschamps’ lawyer is taking Eric Cantona to court for suggesting the France manager left two players out of his Euro 2016 squad due to their ethincity.
Karim Benzema and Hatem Ben Arfa, who are both of African descent, were both omitted from Les Bleus’ 23-man squad for the tournament.
“Benzema is a great player. Ben Arfa is a great player,” Cantona told the Guardian this week. “But Deschamps, he has a really French name. Maybe he is the only one in France to have a truly French name. Nobody in his family mixed with anybody, you know. Like the Mormons in America.”
Asked whether he truly believed Deschamps had been discriminatory with his squad selection, he added: “Maybe no, but maybe yes. Why not? One thing is for sure – Benzema and Ben Arfa are two of the best players in France and will not play the European Championship.
“And for sure, Benzema and Ben Arfa, their origins are north African. So, the debate is open.”
Carlos Brusa, Deschamps’ lawyer, said Cantona’s comments were “slanderous” and “defamatory”.
He told L’Equipe: “I will initiate action before the civil and criminal courts to punish these slanderous and defamatory comments that infringe impermissibly on Mr Deschamps’ integrity.”
Despite scoring 28 goals for Real Madrid this season, Benzema was left out of the squad.
The striker discovered the news in April, with French Football Federation Noel Le Graet confirming the decision was taken to maintain squad harmony.
He was questioned by police last year after becoming embroiled in an alleged sex-tape blackmail scandal with fellow France international Mathieu Valbuena.
Ben Arfa was expected to be included in the squad after enjoying a fine campaign with Ligue 1 side Nice but was forced to settle for a place on Deschamps’ standby list.
Benzema, who was born in France, is of Algerian descent, while Ben Arfa would’ve been eligible for Tunisia through his father, former Tunisia international footballer Kamel Ben Arfa, before making his senior international debut in 2007.
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