France football star Paul Pogba has reportedly quit the national team over comments made by President Emmanuel Macron on Islam. The French president allegedly called Islam the “source of international terrorism”.
Pogba, who part of the 2018 FIFA World Cup-winning side, reportedly “resigned” after Macron’s comments during a speech on Friday. The news is yet to be confirmed by the player and the football association.
Reports also suggested that the Manchester United midfielder resented the French government’s decision to bestow the country’s highest honour―Legion d'Honneur―on the teacher who was beheaded by an 18-year-old Muslim immigrant from Chechnya, Russia. The teacher, Samuel Paty, was murdered on October 16 after he had shown images of the Prophet Muhammad to his pupils.
The government had decided to confer the honour the teacher, recognising that he died trying to uphold the importance of freedom of speech.
Macron had described the beheading as an ‘Islamic terrorist attack’, adding that “unity and firmness are the only answers to the monstrosity of Islamist terrorism”. He had announced earlier this month that there would be tougher laws to deal with “Islamist separatism”.
Reports by the UK media said that the news was first published by Middle Eastern news sources. It said that Pogba, who is a convert to Islam, considered the decision to bestow the honour on Paty an insult to French Muslims. Around six million Muslims make up France’s population.
