Mourinho 'slave' claim inappropriate - Thuram
Lilian Thuram claims it was inappropriate of Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho to claim Claude Makelele has been treated as a “slave” by France.
The Barcelona defender lined up alongside Chelsea midfielder Makelele in Saturday’s 3-0 win over Georgia.
Makelele was called up for the match despite declaring his international career over after the World Cup.
The 33-year-old has put the retirement issue on hold until after Wednesday’s Euro 2008 qualifier against Italy, the team who beat France in the World Cup final.
Makelele has already revealed his objections to his call-up and declared his hope that “the situation will be resolved so that there is no ambiguity” in the near future.
However Mourinho’s claim that “Makelele is not a football player, Makelele is a slave” as a result of the French Football Federation’s stance has upset Thuram.
Thuram told L’Equipe: “Mourinho obviously does not know what slavery is. If he is comparing Makelele’s situation to slavery he ought to say sorry, he does not know what he is talking about.
“Maybe he wanted to shock but it was not an appropriate expression.”
