Patrice Evra convicted by court for ‘homophobic X-rated video’

Former footballer turned pundit Patrice Evra has been convicted by court for historic homophobic x-rated social media video.

The 41 year old was not present in Paris on Thursday when he was sentenced to €1,000 (£890) and ordered to pay €2,000 (£1,780) compensation to two anti-hate groups.

Stop Homophobia, Mousse complained that Evra had posted a video on social media after a match between Manchester United and PSG.

‘Paris, you are queers, you are queers’ said Evra, causing outrage across France and beyond following the UEFA Champions League clash.

Alleging that his old club was more macho than PSG, Evra added; ‘Here, it’s the men who talk.’

Mousse and Stop Homophobia, supported by the anti-homophobia collective Rouge Direct, (Red Direct) issued a complaint for ‘public insult towards a group of people because of their sexual orientation’.

The judge, investigating the case, reclassified the complaint to ‘non-public insult’ and referred the case to the Paris Police Court.

The Judge ruled that Evra, who these days now lives out in Dubai, had ‘expressed himself in a private setting for the making of a video which was later posted on Snapchat without his knowledge.’

Following Thursday’s conviction, the complainants’ lawyer, Etienne Deshoulieres, released a statement saying: ‘The homophobic remarks of a personality like Patrice Evra fuel hatred and violence against LGBT people, in particular in countries where homosexuality is criminally repressed, like in Senegal, the country where Patrice Evra comes from’.

Evra was born in Dakar, which is the capital of Senegal, and then moved to Paris as a young child.

Jerome Boursican, for Evra, said his client had ‘not wanted to harm the homosexual community,’ and was instead just ‘aiming [insults] at PSG’.

The lawyer adds that Evra had published an apology video the day after the offending one was broadcast.

Homophobia is sadly still an issue in the modern professional game, with all European clubs, including Premier League ones, claiming they are doing all they can to tackle it.

Patrice Evra revealed in a previous interview that teammates told him they were gay, while recalling the alarming attitude towards homosexuality he encountered in England.

He claims there are at least two gay players at every club.

Evra says homosexuality was discriminated against in certain dressing rooms – which he believes stopped gay footballers from coming out publicly.

While he did not specify which English club, Evra told Le Parisen: “When I was in England, they brought someone to talk to the team about homosexuality.

“Some of my colleagues said, ‘It is against my religion, if there is a homosexual in this locker room, let him leave the club’ and other comments.

“At that time, I said, ‘Shut up’. I played with players who were gay. Face to face, they opened up with me because they are afraid to speak otherwise.

“There are at least two players per club who are gay. But in the world of football, if you say so, it’s over.”

Patrice Evra has been fined €1,000 after being found guilty for using homophobic language when Manchester United beat PSG in Paris in 2019:

He was heard shouting: “Paris, you’re faggots ! You’re faggots ! Here, the men are speaking.” pic.twitter.com/6ZaglxUxlw

— Football Tweet ⚽ (@Football__Tweet) February 9, 2023

This is what fans had to say with Patrice Evra convicted by a court for his ‘homophobic X-rated video’…

@CFCevanfj: not €1,000!!! how will the poor bloke survive 😔

@EdParker96: He’ll blame Suarez for this

@goatd3ys: He will never financially recover from this

@HTFMChelsea: Now that is really setting the example. No footballer will ever dream of being homophobic now. A whopping 1k! He’ll be homeless how will he recover?

@ConnorVercetti: Proper little helmet this guy ain’t he

@DavoLFC_: How the tables have turned

@Mike34775: Why has this taken nearly 4 years? 🤷🏻‍♂️

@MJThomas_88: Always been a vile bloke. Tells lies as well 🤥

@jstokes44: Guess he’ll be working for talkSPORT in a couple months, like Sinclair then.

@WhufcSloth: Hopefully this puts an end to @SkySports & @skytv putting this Homophobic, slime ball in absolutely every panel show or Man Utd game…

@mike_kieran17: Wonder who comes to his defence. Players were slated for defending Suarez, and yes racism and homophobia are cut from the same cloth and shouldn’t be happening anywhere at any level.

@Lee47898256: Very odd human that one

@JuceeRob: That club is full of current or ex toe suckers, homophobes, adulterers and woman abusers. Horrible 😬

@CanalStBlues: Ahh. Another one who gave it the moral high ground – when suits. You’re either a advocate against ALL forms of discrimination or you discriminate yourself. There’s no in between 👍🏼

@CPFC_Cal: Good. Blokes a prick.

@SCSA2021: Hypocritical c*nt

@bigdizzle1986: Wonder if @SkySportsPL let him off as easy as they did Carra for spitting on a kid ?? Oh no wait he’s black …….

Deserves to be jailed for this alone: pic.twitter.com/avBZmSuLNP

— SHEIKH 👑 (@SheikhMCI) February 9, 2023