Patrice Evra makes excuses for using homophobic slur ‘that was normal when he grew up’

Patrice Evra has listed a number of excuses to explain why he used a homophobic slur online.

The Manchester United legend was given a criminal conviction for posting homophobic abuse aimed at Paris Saint Germain stars on Snapchat, when they played against the Red Devils in 2019.

Following his disparaging remarks towards the PSG squad, who he labelled “queers”, Evra was hit with a £890 fine and ordered to pay £1,780 compensation to two anti-hate campaign groups – Stop Homophobia and Mousse, who lodged complaints against him – in his absence at a Paris court last week.

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But following the damning verdict, the 41-year-old reeled of a slew of excuses – claiming such terms were used freely in the community he was raised in without malice.

The Frenchman explained to The Times, via the Daily Mail, while imploring the offensive language isn’t a reflection of his character: “I’m hurt because this doesn’t represent me. Yes, I used vulgar language because when I was growing up this was normal. It makes me think I have so much to learn but I will keep learning.

“The police were laughing because they know I didn’t use the words [to be offensive]. They say we don’t have to pursue the case because we know who Patrice is.

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“It was a private message, I used words that were used when I was a kid. It was the way I grew up.”

After United’s 3-1 victory in March 2019, Evra reportedly went to dinner in Paris with a friend of Paul Pogba, who asked him to send a mocking video to a PSG fan.

The former Man United captain was filmed saying: “Paris, you are queers, you are queers. Here, it’s the men who talk.”

In the interview he went on to profess his remorse and share his pain at being labelled a bad person for a one-off incident that he’s apologised for on numerous occasions.

He added: “For four years they fight but they are picking the battle with the wrong guy if you see what I have done all my life, which is to accept everyone for who they are.

“It’s painful because it’s not who I am. I have to pay those two associations and I hope they are going to use the money for good things but it is not just about the money, it’s about me being in this situation when I am not that person.

“I made a mistake. In my youth it was not a mistake and now it is. Since that incident I have never used those words. I have acknowledged the homophobia problem in the football world so it’s really crazy for me to get this bad press for something I did four years ago.

“It was not because I meant it, I just used those words. I offended people, I apologised many times. I lost the case, and I paid them and I am fine with that. But I am not fine with people trying to describe an image I am not.”

Evra grew up in Dakar, Senegal, before moving to France as a youngster. And his lawyer Jerome Boursican claimed Evra, “meant no harm to the homosexual community, but was instead taking personal shots at PSG with the crude comments”.

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