DAVID GINOLA HAS launched legal action against Gerard Houllier, suing his former international manager for “public insult and defamation.”
Houllier, who was at the helm when France disastrously failed to qualify for the 1994 World Cup, recently reopened a long-running feud between the pair with his contribution to a new book, Coaching Secrets.
The former Liverpool and Aston Villa coach has long been critical of Ginola, repeatedly singling the winger out for his role in France’s 2-1 defeat against Bulgaria in November 1993.
Before the game, Ginola — then with Paris Saint-Germain — hit out at the inclusion of Marseille players Jean-Pierre Papin and Eric Cantona in the team ahead of him, leading to a chorus of boos from the partisan Parisian support every time they touched the ball.
The Telegraph reports part of Houllier’s contribution to the book, published in France last month.
“PSG play at the Parc des Princes,” he wrote. “PSG’s enemy is Marseille.”
When he says that Papin and Cantona should not play and that he should play instead… he is a bastard because every time Papin or Cantona touched the ball, they were booed.
It is not known which particular comment or comments have prompted the lawsuit. Speaking to the BBC, Ginola’s representatives said: “To use those words, and to have them in a book that is meant to sell and to sell heavily, this was a very heavy quote.”
In the past, Houllier has also publicly slammed Ginola for not holding on to possession from an injury-time free-kick, allowing Emil Kostadinov to break away for the winner, ending France’s hopes of qualification.
Houllier made numerous mistakes throughout his career and stirring this up again after 18 years is immature and shows his innate stubbornness. Another plonker a la Domenech.