Despite the controversy, Gérald Darmanin continues to attack Karim Benzema. The Minister of the Interior thus defended his controversial comments about the player on Wednesday evening in Abu Dhabi, saying that “it hides something” when a footballer posts a political opinion “selectively”.
“One might wonder what a footballer is doing tweeting a political opinion and that, when he does it, he does it selectively. I personally think that it hides something and not to see it is to be naive,” declared the minister, who was questioned during a meeting with members of the French community, at the residence of the French ambassador. in the capital of the United Arab Emirates.
Darmanin thinks he is in his “role”
“We can wonder why the Minister of the Interior reacts to a footballer’s tweet, but when it affects 20 million people, I think it is my role to denounce this,” added Gérald Darmanin, who was in the United Arab Emirates for a meeting of interior ministers of the International Security Alliance (ISA).
On October 16 on CNews, he accused Karim Benzema of having a “notorious link” with the Muslim Brotherhood, a radical Islamist organization born in Egypt. The minister criticized the ex-Real Madrid star, who now plays in Saudi Arabia, for posting a message on spare neither women nor children,” without expressing compassion for the Israeli victims of Hamas.
Gérald Darmanin’s comments had sparked an outcry, with the left accusing him in particular of exploiting the unloved French football. The footballer’s lawyer announced his intention to file a complaint.