The Penalties of Universalism: Football and French Racism

It is the 2006 men’s World Cup Final in Berlin, Germany, and two European juggernauts, France and Italy, face off in the last game of the most-watched sports event on the planet. The game has gone into extra-time, and out of nowhere the captain of Les Blues, Zinedine Zidane, one of the most influential and famous football players of all time, “chestbutts” (a headbutt to the chest) Italian player Marco Materazzi and is given a red card and sent off. The game goes into a penalty shootout, and the Italians emerge victorious. 

The Frenchman’s sudden moment of losing his cool has been seen as one of the most mind-boggling moments in the history of world football (what we call in the United States “soccer”). The World Cup Final was also the last professional game of Zidane’s career, and many fans around the globe were confused as to why Zidane had himself sent off in the last stages of the game. 

Zidane’s parents had emigrated to France from Algeria in 1953. Days after the game, it had been reported worldwide that an Italian lip-reader near the field was able to decipher that Materazzi said, "I wish an ugly death to you and all your family," and then told Zidane to "go fuck yourself". Zidane had also been subjected to other discrimination throughout the tournament by being called a “dirty terrorist.”

“What happened with Zidane’s chestbutt goes back further than just what happened that day. It goes back to French Colonialism in Africa,” says Mougheis Umar, a St. Lawrence University alumnus who has a passion for investigating the intersection between sports and politics.

French Racism on the Field 

Umar has studied Zinedine Zidane, and he describes the French football icon as “like a demigod of France. He was perceived as ‘the good immigrant’ because of his stature as one of the world’s best football players, and how he worked hard to achieve his success — this ideal that appeals to French capitalism.” Umar also said that the “chestbutt incident showed a crack in Zidane’s French caricature. He let his Algerian identity come out in defense of the discrimination he was experiencing.” 

However, many other players have encountered discrimination not just from players from other countries, but also from French fans themselves. Paul Pogba, one of today’s most sensational French football players, has dealt with extremely harsh rhetoric from French fans both on the field and on social media for the expression of his Islamic faith. One of Zidane’s teammates in that 2006 World Cup run was Lilian Thuram, who has also experienced similar forms of racism and discrimination and has since created his own foundation, Fondation Lilian Thuram Éducation contre le racisme, which translates to Lilian Thuram Anti-Racism Education Foundation. The foundation is made up of scholars and experts from different fields around the world, and works to educate the public that “One isn’t born racist, one becomes racist.” 

Umar referred to the era of Zidane and Thuram’s French side as the nation’s “Golden Age '' from 1996-2006, with the team winning the 1998 World Cup. “In the 1998 World Cup winning side, France had a very diverse group of players from all around the world — some from Africa, the Caribbean, Spain, etc.” After the victory in 1998, “The French National Team represented that inclusion and diversity is a strength of France.” According to Umar, the team has entered another Golden Age after they won the 2018 World Cup, but things are not the same as they were in 1998: “There were Algerian immigrants, Tunisian immigrants, and white French folks dancing in the streets celebrating the 2018 World Cup winning side.” However, Umar calls into question the impression of harmonious, multicultural unity. “The day after,” he notes, “ those immigrants went back to just being immigrants in the eyes of those white folks.” 

Universalism

These three French football stars all have something in common: they were discriminated against based on their association with countries that were once under French colonial rule. Dr. Eloise Brezault, a St. Lawrence University professor who studies Francophone African literature, cultural theory, postcolonial literature, and migrant identities in a globalized world, offers her expertise on how French racism manifests in Universalism. “French Universalism is a legacy from the 18th century, and its philosophy of the Enlightenment is that everyone is equal,” Dr. Brezault said in our discussion. “During the Colonial Era, Universalism is there to underline that those colonized in Africa are French citizens. However, they do not have the same rights as those living in France. There is this myth of this philosophy that ‘we’re all a part of the same family.’”

Dr. Brezault explained how this concept of Universalism has held dominance over French society since the colonial era, and on its surface sounds like it promotes equality amongst all French citizens. However, Dr. Brezault echoes Umar in casting doubt on this image. “If your name is Adama or Mohammed, you will have less of a chance of finding a job today in France,” she says, “even if you have the same qualifications as someone with a more traditional French sounding name.” Dr. Brezault continued by saying that there is a very strict separation of church and state: “For Muslims, who follow a faith that is very present in their everyday lives, French people will say, ‘No. Your identity (as French) has to be detached from [one’s religion] in public settings. Your religion is a private matter.’” 

Dr. Brezault gave a compelling comparison to the way we think of identities in the United States citizens versus how they are thought of in France. “In the U.S. you can be African-American, Chinese-American, etc — these dual-multiple identities. That’s not possible in France: you are French and then you have cultural affiliations by being African, Muslim, etc.” Dr. Brezault explained why there has always been rigid resistance — from French politicians to French citizens — towards those whose ancestors were African and colonized by France expressing any part of themselves that doesn’t reflect “French identity.” Her reflections on Universalism would explain Umar’s observation that French players face difficulties when their multi-national identities seem to conflict with being “French.” 

There is an unfortunate position that critics of Universalism face today in France. According to Dr. Brezault, “These groups and individuals also don’t want to go against the French Republic and the idea that everyone is equal, based on the concept of Universalism.” This raises an interesting question: how does one go against a philosophy that, in theory, is promoting everyone being treated the same way? Groups such as Black Lives Matter are trying to make the argument that equality does not mean equity. Just because French citizens are all equal under the identity of being “French,” that does not mean there is equity for all. Equity means allowing people to express their racial and religious identities without being excluded or abused by other French citizens.

US Racism vs. French Racism

What I find most compelling about this case study of French Universalism is that it is both similar to and different from racism in the United States. Although racial identities are at least recognized in the United States, we have our own form of Universalism called “colorblindness.” According to the American Psychological Association, many US citizens believe that the country has moved beyond race and racism with the election of Barack Obama as the country’s first Black President in 2008. However, the APA emphasizes that this has not been the case whatsoever “as evidenced by a range of disparities in education, income, health, and incarceration rates between people of color and Whites as well as by the attacks and killings of unarmed Black and Latino men and women by police officers.” The murders of Michael Brown in 2014 and Breonna Taylor and George Floyd in 2020 are only a few examples of continued, inexcusable racism against people of color in the United States. Yet, many white Americans have still turned a blind eye to the problem,  say that they “don’t see color,” and have issues when groups like Black Lives Matter try to uplift those from marginalized communities. The first step in truly combating racism in the United States, France, and all around the world is to acknowledge that race and racism have a negative impact on people’s lives. The way forward is addressing the things that are actually happening to people of color who are being oppressed every single day. 

Activism Questioning Universalism

Dr. Brezault commented that “Groups, activists, artists, and filmmakers are those trying to make some change” by questioning this philosophy of Universalism that still grips France to this day. “French minority writers grapple with French Universalism in their texts by saying not everyone is white and/or Catholics,” she noted. “Being French is also being a part of different minorities, speaking different languages, and following different religions.” Dr. Brezault mentioned several hip-hop artists such as Black M, Sexion d’Assault, Stromae, Grand Corps Malade, and Abd Al Malik who are very vocal in this endeavor. She also highlighted Christian Taubira, a politician from French Guyana, who worked hard for the government to recognize the impacts of the slave trade in France. Taubira served as Minister of Justice of France in the government of Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault under President François Hollande from 2012 until 2016. There are many other artists who have been working to change the narrative of Universalism in France, and the influence of Black Lives Matter in the country has led many to push for promoting equity over just equality. 

A Chestbutt for the Ages

The penalty shootout that decided the 2006 World Cup Final parallels in the penalties of those in France who try to express their identities that don’t fully align with a narrow vision of being “French.” There was honor in what Zidane did in the last professional game of his career. He could have tolerated the vile racism that Materazzi was spewing at him and gone into the penalty shootout with the possibility of winning a second World Cup in 8 years. Instead, he responded to the abuse. He was not just defending his family at this moment but was also standing up for those who have been deprived of their identities under French Universalism for centuries. 

Banner image: "Zinedine Zidane & the Yoga of Ethics" by premasagar is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.