The soccer fraternity has always paid tribute to the victims of certain mishappenings around the world over the years. Whether it’s the slogan ‘Black Lives Matter’ or an in-game stadium on-screen dedication to a recently passed-away supporter of a particular club. Fans would expect that France international Jean-Clair Todibo would be aware of this phenomenon.
With all the staff members, managers, coaches, and players standing up and observing dedicated silence for a particular cause, soccer fans have always witnessed this respectful trend. However, during one such incident recently in a World Cup qualifier match between France and the Netherlands, disciplinary misconduct was observed from a player’s side.
Jean-Clair Todibo, France’s defender, was spotted laughing during a minute’s silence prior to the start of the match. The silence was dedicated to a teacher whose throat was sl*t in Arras amidst the Israel-Gaza war. The 23-year-old was among the benched players during the tribute.
French football player Jean-Clair Todibo laughs during the minute of silence for the teacher whose throat was slit in Arras.pic.twitter.com/ZvOnhJIst7
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) October 14, 2023
The whole saga has caught fire on social media. The player has landed himself in trouble as there have been different outrageous reactions by the fans towards his conduct. A fan has commented, “Remove him! That was evil!”. Another follower said, “That’s irresponsible”. Another fan turned the undisciplined laugh by the player as, “Satanic”.
Remove him ! That was evil!
— Adithya Biju (@Adithyabijuc) October 14, 2023
It can be clearly inferred from the reactions of the fans that they are deeply disappointed by Todibo’s mannerisms during the dedicated silence. It would not be a surprising thing to witness if the 23-year-old firms an apology, seeing the backlash faced by him on social media.
Jean-Clair plays as a center-back for the Ligue 1 club OGC Nice. The 23-year-old made his international debut for France recently, in September 2023. The French international was linked to Premier League giants Manchester United during the summer transfer window.
When a German international player was spotted smirking during a dedicated silence scenario
German international Serge Gnabry was spotted acrimoniously smirking during a dedicated silence scenario in a match against Argentina. The silence was dedicated to the victims of a bigoted attack in Germany’s Halle. The camera captured the player laughing with his head down during the pre-match silence observance.
Gnabry represents the Bundesliga club Bayern Munich at the club level. The 28-year-old has played 208 matches for Bayern so far in his career. The winger made his international debut for Germany in 2016, having bagged 65 goal contributions for his country till now.
All said and done, players should be careful that, they hold themselves up during such delicate moments. Soccer‘s hierarchy has always looked to set an example by doing its bit towards international peace, by condemning any violent acts. Players should cooperate on such a big stage, and try not to hurt the sentiments, by maintaining discipline.
