After his refusal to take part in the league-wide anti-homophobia campaign last weekend, Toulouse forward Zakaria Aboukhlal now finds himself involved in another controversy over an alleged sexist remark he made to an elected official during the team’s Coupe de France victory celebrations last month.
His national team manager Walid Regragui has spoken of his “surprise” at the allegations. “If there’s one player you wouldn’t imagine in these kinds of stories, it’s Zak’. He’s a respectful boy, with real values and a good education given to him by open-minded parents, who we were lucky to meet at the World Cup in Qatar.”
Regragui adds that he has spoken to Aboukhlal, who has denied the story to him. “His behaviour at the World Cup was beyond reproach. Our Team Manager is a woman, and when she went on rants he would keep his head down. He has a lot of respect for others, he was proud to represent his country and to be part of the squad, even after his goal against Belgium he didn’t act differently. He’s a good sort, he’s a kid who’s anything but pretentious. I have nothing to comment on regarding his behaviour. Although he doesn’t speak French, and I’ve told him in the past he’ll need to learn it quickly to have a better grasp on his environment.” The Morocco manager goes on to explain that Aboukhlal donates to a Casablanca orphanage, as well as football pitches in the vicinity.
RMC Sport had reported that Laurence Arribagé, deputy mayor of Toulouse in charge of sports, had told the players to be quiet for manager Philippe Montanier’s speech, to which Aboukhlal reportedly replied: “Where I’m from, women don’t talk to men like that.” He then allegedly confronted her later on to ask her to apologise. Arribagé has confirmed to RMC that she told the players to be quiet, and that they disliked her request. However, she denied the version of events recounted by the outlet – “There’s no story.” RMC have nevertheless stuck to their story – which has now been confirmed by AFP – and Aboukhlal has now been sidelined by his club pending an investigation – he will now train on his own until further notice.
GFFN | Raphaël Jucobin