Nouvelle-Aquitaine football official suspended after racist remarks were reported

“Luckily, we stopped you at Poitiers”: those words were among remarks reported by an employee of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Football League (LFNA). The vice-president of Stade Ruffécois, in Charente, who is also the League’s treasurer general, was suspended over racist remarks directed at an employee. He has appealed.

The suspension is for five months, with two months suspended. The case has provoked an outcry in amateur football across the Grand Ouest.

The complaint submitted to the ethics and conduct committee also cited the phrase: “you traded your car for a camel”. The employee says they cannot “return to the League” because of a “story that wrecked” them.

The disciplinary case now includes an appeal by the official against the suspension. The reported remarks and the consequences described by the employee give the case significance beyond the length of the ban.