Following the confession of the football champion Paris Saint-Germain to have used discriminatory forms in the possible commitment of new players, the French Minister of Sport has strongly condemned the action. If the discrimination proves to be correct, the criminal consequences may follow, said Roxana Maracineanu in a statement. It would not be tolerable if players were recruited based on their skin color or their origin.
According to research by the investigative Internet newspaper "Mediapart" in the context of the so-called Football Leaks, PSG had confirmed on Thursday that between 2013 and 2018 forms with illegal content were used by the recruiting department of the association.
On the forms, options such as "French", "Maghrebian", "West Indian" or "Black African" were given. The collection of ethnic data of persons is prohibited in France. The club emphasized that the forms were created and applied solely on the personal initiative of a department head.
Maracineanu claims to have called on the presidents of the French Football Federation (FFF) and the French Football Professional League (LFP) to investigate the case and make recommendations on how to prevent such discrimination in the future. Equality Secretary of State Marlène Schiappa also called for clarification.
Football Leaks at SPIEGEL +
REUTERS / New Pool / Benedikt Rugar / THE MIRROR FOOTBALL LeaksThe betrayal
PA / Benedikt Rugar / DER SPIEGELFootball LeaksHow Fifa boss Infantino subdues football
Alex Livesey / Getty Images / Benedict Rugar / THE MIRROR FOOTBALL LeaksThe pact with the sheikhs