PSG suspend Serge Aurier after insulting comments
Paris St Germain will be without Serge Aurier when they face Chelsea in the first round of the Champions League on Tuesday. The Ivorian right-back has received a provisional suspension for insulting coach Laurent Blanc and several team-mates.
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The 23 year-old made the controversial comments in a video interview on the social media app Periscope, with former Lens team-mate Mamadou Doucouré.
When asked about coach Laurent Blanc, who brought Aurier to Paris St Germain from Toulouse in 2014, the Ivorian international appeared to use homophobic insults.
He also criticised lead goalscorer Zlatan Ibrahimovic, called winger Angel Di Maria a “clown”, and said the team's goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu was "rubbish".
In an online statement released on Sunday, the club announced it had opened disciplinary proceedings against Aurier, accompanied by a provisional suspension.
“The video […] contains certain comments which are clearly unacceptable from a Paris St Germain player”, the statement read, “towards certain team-mates and especially towards coach Laurent Blanc.”
Aurier later apologised for his behaviour in a video released on PSG TV. “I made a big mistake", he said. "I am here to say sorry to the coach, the club and my team-mates, and to the supporters because they are the most important people."
Aurier has been part of PSG’s regular line-up this season, bringing pace and physical strength to the team's defence, as well as offensive runs down the right wing.
He has also claimed a place in Ivory Coast’s national team, winning the African Cup of Nations last year, and was voted the best right-back of the French league in 2014.
But beyond his solid performances in PSG's defence, the right-back is also well known for his impulsive temperament.
In March 2015, he received a three-match suspension for insulting Bjorn Kuipers on Facebook, after the Dutch referee sent off Zlatan Ibrahimovic in an intense Champions League tie against Chelsea.
This time the Ivorian international will not be part of the match at all.
"My main wish is that we get a very good result", he told PSG TV. "I know that I have done something wrong, but I want it to be forgotten soon."
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