Players Views

David Ginola

France

Not just Footballer of the Year but a peace campaigner and a hair shampoo model - is there no end to this man's talents? David Ginola talks to Show Racism the Red Card.

Have you witnessed or experienced any racism?
There is a lot of racism in every country, especially in football. I think in England the black community is more appreciated by the people than in France. I remember I had a friend who played as a goalkeeper in a French team. When we played at a ground in the country it was terrible for him, they said that he should go and eat bananas. There is no reason to say something like that because everybody is really the same.

Is the racist, right-wing leader John Marie Le-Pen strong in France?
He becomes stronger every day. There are more and more immigrants you know, like Algerians and Moroccans but some of the people in France want France to be just for the French.

Do you have a message against racism?
It's just a question of education, especially for the young people. If everyday you hear something like your father saying 'I hate blacks', one day the kid will say the same thing. If the parents say that everybody is free and everybody is equal the children will eventually say 'I love everybody'. It's the adults who have to give the good examples for everybody.