Racism: “all of Algeria that is targeted”, Belmadi’s huge rant on Bentaleb

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Sidelined by Schalke 04, midfielder Nabil Bentaleb was targeted on Sunday by racist comments made by consultant Steffen Freund on German television. While the Euro 1996 winner blamed the Algerian international’s disciplinary problems on his origins, Fennecs coach Djamel Belmadi reacted vigorously in a video released on Tuesday by the Algerian Federation (FAF).

“Above all, we want to support Nabil Bentaleb in this event. I am not talking only about his sidelining, but above all about the treatment he can undergo through the interventions of pseudo-consultants who in reality hide a racism and a hatred behind a costume. As an Algerian, coach of the national team, and with the Federation and our whole country, we cannot let this kind of scandalous and offensive remarks pass about our country. Because through Nabil, our whole country is targeted. This unfortunate racist, devoid of all conscience, of all intelligence, found no other reason for the sidelining of Nabil than to take his origin, his race, namely his Algerianness and his social origin ”, lamented the technician before appealing to the authorities.

“This kind of thing must not go unpunished, we must speak out against this kind of talk and I call for all authorities, as we have seen so often on racist remarks, whether it is FIFA or The German Federation react quickly, the club too, because it reacted, but we must react with much more vehemence. We, as Algerians, cannot stand this kind of talk that hurts us and we will not accept it. (…) These words spoken like that with complete impunity on a TV set cannot go unpunished. Nabil has our full support, because if he was touched, it is all Algerians who must be offended, “recalled the ex-PSG and OM midfielder, very upset.