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‘Until my death they are going to talk to me about this’ – Why ex-Newcastle star David Ginola will meet former Liverpool boss Gerard Houllier in court
Sores nearly two decades old still remain open for the ex-Paris Saint-Germain winger, and the constant barracking from his former national team boss has simply become too much
Jan 9, 2012 9:00:00 AM
SPECIAL
By Robin Bairner | French Football Editor
On Monday, David Ginola and Gerard Houllier will renew a fiery acquaintance that dates back to one of French football’s darkest days in 1993. Their meeting on this occasion will not come in the familiar confines of a football stadium, rather in the courtroom, where Ginola will aim to partially close a chapter on an episode that will undoubtedly haunt him for the remainder of his life.
The scene was the Parc des Princes, packed and throbbing with anticipation of France’s qualification for the 1994 World Cup. Les Bleus were tied 1-1 against Bulgaria in a fixture they needed to avoid defeat in to progress to the finals in the USA. Ginola gathered possession and was called to charge for the corner flag by Houllier, the erstwhile coach of the national side. The winger did not heed the advice coming from the sidelines, choosing instead to deliver a cross. It was to prove a fateful decision.
Ginola’s delivery was too heavy, and set in motion a sequence of events that saw Emil Kostadinov score an injury-time goal that sent the visitors into the finals at the expense of the disbelieving French.
The aftermath was swift and harsh, inevitably falling hardest on Ginola, who was remorselessly booed around France thereafter, aside from at Paris Saint-Germain, where he remained the darling of the support as he claimed the French Footballer of the Year prize at the conclusion of the campaign. Most infamously, the press hit out at the former Newcastle winger, branding him “the assassin of French football”, a comment that typified the vilification of a player who felt he had to seek exile from his homeland in England.
Houllier was amongst those to hit out at the wideman, claiming that Ginola’s on-field actions were “criminal”.
“Until my death they are going to talk to me about this,” Ginola, speaking to the BBC in 2010, said. “If at the time Gerard Houllier hadn’t said these type of things, they wouldn’t talk to me about this now. It affects my personal life, my children, it affects a lot of things, it’s intolerable. Now it’s enough. I’m so sick of it.”
Although such comments clearly hurt the then 26-year-old, the ex-Liverpool boss would not allow his feelings to dissipate over time, and the ill-feeling was inflamed incredibly when the former France coach released a book entitled ‘Secrets des Coachs’.
His comments did not refer to Ginola’s overzealous attacking endeavour late in the Bulgaria defeat; rather, they regarded comments made by the player in the build-up to the match. Unable to force his way into the national side on a regular basis, Ginola hit out at his coach prior to the game, grumbling that Eric Cantona, who opened the scoring on that ill-fated night, and Jean-Pierre Papin, a former Ballon d’Or winner, were not worthy of a place in the side ahead of him.
“PSG play at the Parc des Princes,” Houllier wrote. “PSG's enemy is Marseille. When he says that Papin and Cantona should not play and that he should play instead ... he is a bastard because every time Papin or Cantona touched the ball, they were booed.”
Without the support of the notoriously fickle Parisian crowd, Houllier believes his side were given an unnecessary extra hurdle to surmount in their qualification battle.
Perhaps Ginola would have heeded – or at least ignored - the 64-year-old’s comments had they been framed in a more tactful manner, but the scalded winger has instead turned to the courts to seal Houllier’s lips after an argument lasting the best part of two decades, citing “public insult and defamation of character”.
"Gerard Houllier is a repeat offender,” Jean-Claude Guidicelli, the lawyer who will represent Ginola, told the press last November.
"Two years ago he slipped up on a television programme and we sent him a yellow card, inviting him to demonstrate more measurement and discernment.
"This time he has gone too far. David Ginola has decided to send him a red card.
"David had to leave France for England and his son, who was just starting out in football at the time, was jeered as soon as he came on to the pitch.
"To use those words, and to have them in a book that is meant to sell and to sell heavily, this was a very heavy quote."
Whatever happens in the Toulon courtroom over the next days, weeks or months, one thing is for sure: an affair that has sullied the French game for nearly 20 years will be forever remembered as one of its great controversies, and Ginola is right when he says he will carry the incident with him to his grave. He will not be given the opportunity to forget.
Follow Robin Bairner on
By Robin Bairner | French Football Editor
On Monday, David Ginola and Gerard Houllier will renew a fiery acquaintance that dates back to one of French football’s darkest days in 1993. Their meeting on this occasion will not come in the familiar confines of a football stadium, rather in the courtroom, where Ginola will aim to partially close a chapter on an episode that will undoubtedly haunt him for the remainder of his life.
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The scene was the Parc des Princes, packed and throbbing with anticipation of France’s qualification for the 1994 World Cup. Les Bleus were tied 1-1 against Bulgaria in a fixture they needed to avoid defeat in to progress to the finals in the USA. Ginola gathered possession and was called to charge for the corner flag by Houllier, the erstwhile coach of the national side. The winger did not heed the advice coming from the sidelines, choosing instead to deliver a cross. It was to prove a fateful decision.
Ginola’s delivery was too heavy, and set in motion a sequence of events that saw Emil Kostadinov score an injury-time goal that sent the visitors into the finals at the expense of the disbelieving French.
The aftermath was swift and harsh, inevitably falling hardest on Ginola, who was remorselessly booed around France thereafter, aside from at Paris Saint-Germain, where he remained the darling of the support as he claimed the French Footballer of the Year prize at the conclusion of the campaign. Most infamously, the press hit out at the former Newcastle winger, branding him “the assassin of French football”, a comment that typified the vilification of a player who felt he had to seek exile from his homeland in England.
Houllier was amongst those to hit out at the wideman, claiming that Ginola’s on-field actions were “criminal”.
| "It affects my personal life, my children, it affects a lot of things, it’s intolerable. Now it’s enough. I’m so sick of it" - David Ginola
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 |
“Until my death they are going to talk to me about this,” Ginola, speaking to the BBC in 2010, said. “If at the time Gerard Houllier hadn’t said these type of things, they wouldn’t talk to me about this now. It affects my personal life, my children, it affects a lot of things, it’s intolerable. Now it’s enough. I’m so sick of it.”
Although such comments clearly hurt the then 26-year-old, the ex-Liverpool boss would not allow his feelings to dissipate over time, and the ill-feeling was inflamed incredibly when the former France coach released a book entitled ‘Secrets des Coachs’.
His comments did not refer to Ginola’s overzealous attacking endeavour late in the Bulgaria defeat; rather, they regarded comments made by the player in the build-up to the match. Unable to force his way into the national side on a regular basis, Ginola hit out at his coach prior to the game, grumbling that Eric Cantona, who opened the scoring on that ill-fated night, and Jean-Pierre Papin, a former Ballon d’Or winner, were not worthy of a place in the side ahead of him.
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DAVID GINOLA | ALL-TIME LEAGUE STATS
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“PSG play at the Parc des Princes,” Houllier wrote. “PSG's enemy is Marseille. When he says that Papin and Cantona should not play and that he should play instead ... he is a bastard because every time Papin or Cantona touched the ball, they were booed.”
Without the support of the notoriously fickle Parisian crowd, Houllier believes his side were given an unnecessary extra hurdle to surmount in their qualification battle.
Perhaps Ginola would have heeded – or at least ignored - the 64-year-old’s comments had they been framed in a more tactful manner, but the scalded winger has instead turned to the courts to seal Houllier’s lips after an argument lasting the best part of two decades, citing “public insult and defamation of character”.
"Gerard Houllier is a repeat offender,” Jean-Claude Guidicelli, the lawyer who will represent Ginola, told the press last November.
"Two years ago he slipped up on a television programme and we sent him a yellow card, inviting him to demonstrate more measurement and discernment.
"This time he has gone too far. David Ginola has decided to send him a red card.
"David had to leave France for England and his son, who was just starting out in football at the time, was jeered as soon as he came on to the pitch.
"To use those words, and to have them in a book that is meant to sell and to sell heavily, this was a very heavy quote."
Whatever happens in the Toulon courtroom over the next days, weeks or months, one thing is for sure: an affair that has sullied the French game for nearly 20 years will be forever remembered as one of its great controversies, and Ginola is right when he says he will carry the incident with him to his grave. He will not be given the opportunity to forget.
Follow Robin Bairner on
| Sign up with 188BET for a FREE bet up to £25 – Great Prices, Every Game |
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| Open an account with Sportingbet today and get up to £50 in free bets! |
|
| Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25 |
|
| Sign up with bet365 for a free bet up to £200 |
|
| Sign up with Paddy Power - Bet £10, Get £20! |
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