French football club denies Fowler’s racism claims, threatens legal action

French football club Montpellier has denied racism allegations made by Matildas star Mary Fowler, after the 22-year-old said she and another black teammate were given bananas instead of flowers at a farewell presentation in 2022.

The club said it was shocked by a number of Fowler’s accusations, which were made in her book Bloom – published this week – and that there was no evidence to support those claims.

Australian football player Mary Fowler.Credit: Getty Images

“Some of them [accusations] are particularly serious, and the shortcut that results from them — portraying the club as a racist entity — is unacceptable,” Montpellier said in a statement.

Fowler joined the club in 2020 when she was 17, and left two years later. In her book, she said the incident was not “a simple error”.

“Afterwards, when we got inside the changing room, some of our teammates questioned why we hadn’t received any flowers ... A few of the girls laughed about it and then one of the other players came over and handed my friend and me some bananas, saying, ‘here have these’ ...” Fowler wrote.

“Not receiving flowers was one thing, but as two of only six black girls in the squad, receiving bananas wasn’t something I could laugh off and forget about.”

The club disputed Fowler’s version of events and said it may take legal action over the comments, which they claim are defamatory.

“From a purely factual standpoint, the truth leaves no room for interpretation,” the club said.

“On June 1, 2022, the women’s team played their last home match against Bordeaux. At the end of the match, as had been customary for several seasons, two players whose contracts were expiring — and who were therefore wearing the club’s colours for the last time — were honoured with a bouquet of flowers.

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“This was neither the case for Mary Fowler nor for the teammate mentioned in her book, both of whom were still under contract with the club until 30 June 2023. It would therefore have been rather inappropriate for the club to offer them a ‘farewell gift.’”

The club said they had consulted the players present in the locker room during the alleged incident, and that they found no evidence to corroborate Fowler’s claims and could not identify the alleged perpetrator.

“If incidents of this nature had been reported and proven, the club would have taken all necessary measures as soon as they were brought to its attention,” the club said. “Racism is a serious issue that must not be exploited. The club wishes to reiterate its daily commitment to fighting all forms of discrimination.”

With AP

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