Chelsea’s superstar goalkeeper Edouard Mendy has hit out at the media outlets, including the widely circulated Le Parisien and Mirror that used his image in stories about Manchester City defender Benjamin Mendy.
In an apparent display of unethical journalism, the Senegal star and his cousin, Ferland Mendy of Real Madrid, saw their faces surface across English and French publications in their stories about the rape charges made against their City namesake.
City and France full-back Benjamin Mendy has been charged with six counts of rape and one of sexual assault and remains in custody while the English club suspended him pending an enquiry.
In his Instagram story, Edouard Mendy slammed the disgraceful case of mistaken identity calling out the racist mentality of the European press and terming it ‘highly symbolic’.
“Sad to see that in 2021, in France as well as in England, for some, black people have neither names nor distinct faces,” the Senegal international wrote on Instagram.
“These ‘mistakes’ of photos appear anecdotal, but actually they are quite the opposite, they are highly symbolic.
“It’s not that complicated to differentiate two faces, especially when the football jersey is of valuable help!”
The above story was shared by Ferland Mendy in his Instagram story as well and he tweeted the story with an angry reaction.
‘Thank you Edouard Mendy! We are in 2021’ The player wrote.
STOP It will take time but you will end up respecting us! Whether you like it or not. The French defender added.
It is surprising that neither Chelsea nor Real Madrid have publicly come out in solidarity with their players who were subjected to the media harassment.
Edouard is one of the standout players for the Premier League leaders Chelsea. Arrived in September 2020, he was key in Chelsea’s champions league win in Thomas Tuchel’s maiden season.