In his autobiography, “I Love This Game,” Evra writes about the abuse he says occurred when he stayed at a teacher’s house to reduce school commuting.
Evra, who was 13 at the time, says the teacher remembers going into the room where he stayed every night and tying shoelaces around his pajamas to stop the assault.
Evra says she didn’t tell her family about abuse until a few weeks before the book was published in 2021, even though she told her mother she didn’t want to stay at the house.
“When that happens, you feel ashamed and guilty of yourself, and you don’t know if people will trust you.”
Evra said he had never submitted a police report on the abuse and denied that it had happened when he was approached by police at the age of 24.
It wasn’t until he opened the door to his fiancé Margot Alexandra that he decided to share his experience.
“So I don’t want people to say,’Wow, Patrice, you’re so brave. You’re so brave to talk openly about it,'” he said.
“It’s not about it. Victims-it’s not because they’re brave, it’s the right moment when you feel safe and trustworthy.
“I was very lucky. I met Margot, the woman of my life, and she helped me get rid of all that toxic masculinity and open myself up.”
Now that the former defender has retired from his glittering professional football career, he has won five Premier League titles and the 2007/08 Champions League at Manchester United, representing France 81 times-he raises awareness of child abuse. Help the government help groups trying to help survivors.
talk
Evra hopes to share his experience so that others can more comfortably talk about offensive topics.
“I don’t encourage anyone to talk about it,” he added. “I think you’re going to get support because it’s so easy to open, what’s next? Support.
“That’s why this is my cause after playing football. I have priorities. Children, gender equality, racism, mental health. All of this is really important to me.”
Since his retirement, Evra has used his presence on social media to spread the spirit of joy and positivity, but he has not hesitated to tackle major issues.
His autobiography details the racist abuse he suffered as a player, especially as an Italian youth who played for Marsala and Monza between 1998 and 2000.
“People were throwing bananas at me. Every time I got the ball, people were crying monkeys,” he said.
In addition to the abuse from the fans, he also recalls the incident where the player called him a racial abusive before the powerful tackle he was left in the hospital.
He was also involved in a well-known incident in 2011 when he played for Manchester United.
Suarez later apologized for the handshake snab.
Evra said it took a long time to get over that particular case, but now he wants to use his voice to eradicate racism from the games he loves.
“I always support people who want to change things. First of all, the problem is not just in football, but in society. It’s in education. No baby is born as a racist,” he said. ..
“We have to stop, pretend, and do something. Silence is a crime.”
Premier League players knelt down as a sign of solidarity against racism before every match last season. FIFA, the governing body of the game, has a framework that seems to punish racist behaviour.
According to the latest version of the FIFA Disciplinary Code, players or officers engaged in racist language or behavior may be sanctioned for at least 10 consecutive suspensions or “other appropriate disciplinary action”.
The code adds that clubs could be fined at least $ 20,076 if supporters show discriminatory behavior. Other sanctions include deduction of points, play of a match without spectators, forfeit of a match, expulsion from a tournament, or demotion to a lower division.
Abuse online
However, in recent seasons, racism has also spread online, targeting players for abuse on personal social media channels.
Last year, a French court ordered Twitter to outline its plans to work on hate speech on the site. Social media giants have appealed the decision, despite six non-discrimination groups claiming that San Francisco-based companies have failed to ban hateful users from the platform.
“Keeping people safe, free from online abuse, and protecting the health of public conversations is Twitter’s top priority,” a Twitter spokeswoman said in a statement.
“As outlined in our policy on hatred, we do not tolerate abuse or harassment of people based on race, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, or sexual orientation.
“Today, more than 50% of offending content is surfaced by automated systems, further reducing the burden on individuals reporting abuse.
“We have made recent progress in giving people greater control over managing their safety, but we know there is still work to be done.”
Last year, Instagram released a new tool that automatically excludes malicious messages from accounts that users don’t know about.
Meta, which owns Instagram and Facebook, opposes discrimination and says it has several safety features across the platform.
“We don’t have to experience racist abuse everywhere, and we don’t want it on our platform,” a Meta spokeswoman said in a statement.
“We have developed a safety feature to filter off offensive comments and DMs by removing offensive content as soon as we find it.
“There is nothing that can solve this challenge overnight, but we are proud to work with the football community, law enforcement agencies and NGOs to help address this issue.”
Source: www.cnn.com
