Barcelona defender Jules Kounde and Real Madrid midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni have both used their visibility to ask for justice, following a disastrous police killing in their native France.
This week has seen mass protests in France after a policeman opened fire on a 17-year-old black teenager by the name of Nahel. During a police check on a car, Nahel tried to drive off and the police shot him dead immediately.
The incident has understandably caused anger and fear in France, raising questions of racism, profiling and police brutality. Kounde took to Twitter to express his feelings on the matter, and express his frustration at the media coverage of the matter.
“A 17-year-old young man shot dead at point-blank range by a police officer for refusing to comply during a check. This is the reality of the situation and it is dramatic.”
“As if this new police blunder was not enough, the continuous news channels are making a big deal out of it.”
“Scenes that are disconnected from reality, “journalists” who ask “questions” with the sole aim of distorting the truth, criminalising the victim and finding extenuating circumstances where there are none.”
“A method as old as the world to hide the real problem. What if we turned off the TV for a bit to find out?”
Predictably Kounde was hit with the tired argument that as a footballer he should not be allowed to express any humanity, which the 24-year-old had an equally eloquent response for.
The fraternity he references refers to the French national motto, which reads ‘liberty, equality, fraternity.’