Ligue 1
Gaultier admits ‘King Kong’ to Mukudi: ‘I didn’t say it racist, I said it about power’
Christophe Gaultier has admitted calling AEK’s Harold Mukudi and Mikael Nandé “King Kong” as a show of strength when the pair played at St Etienne, and denied the phrase was racist.
Christophe Gaultier is on trial for racist insults against athletes, including AEK’s Harold Mukudi, when the Cameroonian centre-back played for St Etienne.
In particular, in the 2021/22 season, when he was coach of Nice, he used the saying “King Kong” in his team’s dressing room, referring to Arold Mukudi and Mikael Nandé (in the Nice – Saint Etienne game), and this complaint was submitted by his former analyst.
The French technician for this particular case stated as follows: “I remember hesitating to say the word “dog” and saying “King Kong” instead. I used this term because of its power and power. There is no meaning other than power and strength.
With a lot of humility I can say that the young Nantes in 2017 at St Etienne, if there was someone who could talk about his strength… I had to use that term. When we played Nantes in the French Cup final, I used the same formula for Nicolas Palois. In retrospect, that was shocking. If that offended him, I apologize. Yes, I used it, but not in a racist way“.
Source: sport 24
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