Patrice Evra was convicted in a French court over a homophobic video posted on Snapchat in 2019.
– Paris, you’re gay, you’re gay, says the Frenchman in the video.
The former Manchester United captain is now forced to pay around £33,000 for his homophobic statement.
The 41-year-old was not present in the Paris court when the verdict was handed down on Thursday.
The result was that the now-retired full-back was forced to fine just over SEK 11,000 and must pay twice the amount to anti-homophobia organizations Mossi and Stop Homophobia.
“Paris, you’re gay…”
The case began in March 2019 after the Champions League meeting between Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain, which the English won 3-1, which pushed them to the quarter-finals of the tournament.
After the match, a video was posted on Snapchat in which Evra uttered the following words: “Paris, you’re gay, you’re gay.”
Later in the video he also says: “Here it is the men who speak” which refers to the English, who, according to Evra, will be smarter than their French opponents.
The content of the video sparked outrage in France and the two anti-homophobic organizations reported on the star in the statement.
In the report it was alleged that, among other things, Evra was guilty of “publicly insulting a particular group because of their sexual orientation”.
The case was taken up again in court, where the judge ruled, however, that Evra had acted in a private context and without knowledge that the video would be made public.
Interpretation: a mockery of Paris Saint-Germain
During the trial, the defense argued that the insult was never directed at LGBT groups, but was only intended as a mockery of PSG.
Not surprisingly, this explanation was not bought into by the plaintiff, who claimed that the Frenchman’s statement was homophobic and that it fueled hatred against various LGBTQ groups — not least in countries where gay people are oppressed and same-sex relations are criminal.
For example in Senegal, which is the country where Evra himself was born.
Patrice Evra ended his football career in 2018 and currently lives in Dubai. Between 2006 and 2014, he played for Manchester United, where he won five Premier League titles and one UEFA Champions League title, among others.
He also played for big clubs such as Monaco, Juventus, Marseille and West Ham.