By David Gold
November 14 – Former France winger David Ginola is taking former national team coach Gérard Houllier to a court in Toulon for alleged “public insult and defamation” relating to a feud between the pair going back to the 1994 World Cup qualifiers.
France failed to qualify for the World Cup in the United States after a 2-1 defeat in their final qualifier at home to Bulgaria at the Parc des Princes.
In that game, with the score poised at 1-1, Ginola overhit a cross in the final minute, leading directly to a counter attack from which Bulgaria scored the crucial goal that meant they went through at the expense of the French.
It was the last time France failed to qualify for a World Cup, and Ginola suffered a heavy price as a result, being cast as a villain in his homeland and frozen out of the international team after 1995, when he left for Newcastle United.
Ginola’s suffering continued as it meant he missed out on a place in the France team that won the World Cup in 1998 and the European Championships two years later.
Houllier has blamed Ginola for the Bulgaria defeat ever since, and repeated criticisms of the player, who also played for Tottenham Hotspur, in his latest autobiography, “Secrets des Coachs”.
He also attacked the former winger for comments made about Jean-Pierre Papin and Eric Cantona before the crucial qualifier.
The influential pair played for Marseille at the time, during what was the tensest point of the rivalry between the club and Paris St Germain, who play at the Parc des Princes, just months after the southern side had won the European Cup, which was later stripped from them for match fixing.
Houllier alleges that as a result, when France played against Bulgaria in Paris, his star forwards were rounded on by the fervent crowd.
But Ginola’s lawyer Jean-Claude Guidicelli told AFP: “Gérard Houllier is a repeat offender.”
Referring to previous criticisms from Ginola, he added: “Two years ago he had slipped up on a television programme and we had sent him a yellow card, inviting him to demonstrate more measurement and discernment.
“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.
“This time he has gone too far.”
The case is due to be heard on December 12.
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