Grrrrr...

Georges Freche, a Socialist politician in France, outraged just about everyone in France on Wednesday when he said: "On this team [French national team], there are nine blacks out of the 11. Normally, there should only be three or four. That would be a reflection of our society. But if there are so many, it's because the whites are useless." Ha! I love that second part. His comments follow those of far-right leader and openly racist Jean-Marie Le Pen, who suggested during the World Cup that French society did not feel truly represented by Les Bleus. Like they DO feel truly represented by an old fat racist. Right.

Thuram, France's most capped player, labelled Freche's remarks "unhealthy, racist and dangerous...What's unhealthy in what Freche and others have said is that they question the number of blacks on the France team to pit blacks against whites."

"For a long time the great footballers have come from the most disadvantaged backgrounds. And as, in France, a large part of those who live in the most disadvantaged areas are black, it's only normal to find a lot of them on the France team." It's sad that he had to point this out.

You know, this is not the first time I've heard this, and it just pisses me off. Like REALLY pisses me off. People (and I'm not just talking about misguided French politicians) who would never dream of suggesting that say, Ashley Cole isn't British, or that Michael Jordan isn't American, feel free to insinuate that Zidane or Henry are somehow less French than Ribery or Sagnol. Meanwhile Zidane was born in Marseille, Henry in Paris. And I don't seem to recall the same complaint about Klose or Podolski on the German team. But at least France hasn't built a wall along their southern border.

Let's all get over all this illogical and in-many-ways naive crap and just enjoy the beautiful game.