France coach Blanc cleared in race row

France coach Laurent Blanc was yesterday cleared of racial discrimination by French Sports Minister Chantal Jouanno in the row over talks concerning the introduction of quotas for dual nationality players.


Laurent Blanc

"There is nothing to suggest that Laurent Blanc in any way gave his support to discriminatory actions," Jouanno told a press conference.

Blanc appeared before a joint hearing of the French Football Federation (FFF) and the Sports Ministry on Monday.

The two-pronged inquiry was launched after the Mediapart website released a transcript of a meeting last November in which Blanc and French officials discussed introducing quotas on the number of dual-nationality players at youth training centres.