Prominent French Journalist Defends Youcef Belaili
The famous French journalist, Anne-Laure Bonnet, defended the Algerian international Youcef Belaili, who recently joined the French club Brest after he was criticized for not being proficient in the French language.
Anne-Laure Bonnet responded with a tweet on her Twitter account to Belaili’s critics, saying: “Shame on you!”.
“Those who make fun of Belaili are the same who make grammatical errors in our French language without being aware of it, but they do not find anything wrong with criticizing a player. He made an effort to speak their language, and tried to adapt to them.”
They mock those who are trying to learn our language, at a time when they are famous for being the weakest in speaking foreign languages in the world. It’s like spitting on someone who is reaching out to you. What a shame!
Previously, some French press directed harsh criticism at the Algerian star Youcef Belaili, after his first match with Brest Club, which ended with its loss by two clean goals-against Rennes, and considered that he was dull and a ghost, before he was subjected to a campaign of bullying on the media because of his lack of proficiency in speaking the French language.
The French magazine “Onze Mondial” published an article under the title “The Catastrophic Note of Youcef Belaili after his Failed Start in Brest!” explaining that the player does not deserve the media uproar caused by the news of his joining Brest and that he did not provide the expected performance, but it justified that he was late in joining the club and did not adapt to his colleagues yet.
The French website “20 Minutes” described Youcef Belaili, who came from Qatar Club, delivered a disappointing copy for his first match, like his team, beaten by Rennes in Ligue 1 (2-0).
“Established on the left flank of the Brest attack, the Algerian did not show much in the first half when his team drowned, saved by the excellent match of his goalkeeper Marco Bizot. Returning from a missed African Cup of Nations and having terminated his contract with Qatar SC, Belaïli seemed to be lost”, it added.
