France and Spain, two neighboring countries. When you get out of Spain, you get in France.
But I’m not here for Geography classes, that’s Wikipedia’s job. Both nations have had many great tennis players. France has Gasquet, Tsonga, Monfils, Llodra, Simon, … while Spain, well, Spain has Ferrer, Almagro, Ferrero, Lopez, Verdasco, and of course, the 10 times Grand Slam champion… Rafael Nadal !
But with so many good players, the fight among each other in order to find who’s the best nation has been quite exciting. France has 9 Davis Cup titles, Spain has “only” 5, but “nuestros hermanos” lead 6-2 in H2H.
But after all those years of rivarly, Yannick Noah, a former french tennis player who entertains people singing (be scared!!!), said…this:
As soon as he said this, the Spanish sportsmen felt really offended due to Noah’s statements, specifically the tennis players. I mean, wouldn’t you? Sportsmen who give everything on the practises, on the court, to get the best results, without any illegal substances into their body and suddenly comes a former tennis player claiming they only conquer what they conquer due to doping?!? Oh Yannick, you have no idea with whom you’re getting a fight.
Nadal, Lopez, Granollers, Verdasco, Ferrer and many other tennis players and spanish sportsmen showed their distaste on twitter and by other ways for what Yannick said.
Yannick Noah learnt the lesson and he has kept his mouth closed for now about this “doping thing” (and he only opens it to sing), but Canal+, a french TV Channel, decided to make a parody with Rafael Nadal about the same story:
Basically, Rafa urinated in the gas tank of his car, and after that, the same car reached an amazing speed (280 Km/h, lol), which means Nadal was doped (off course he hadn’t oil into his body, but, you got it right?)
“Spanish sportsmen, they don’t win by chance” is the final phrase on the video
RFET didn’t enjoy very much the joke and is planning a counterattack, suing Canal+ for “publishing a video in which, as well as containing unacceptable and damaging insinuations, the federation’s emblem and anagram were used”
“The tolerance limits were exceeded, and we can not ignore defamations like that” – says José Luis Escanuela, RFET president
But also Toni Nadal, Rafa’s uncle and coach, has an oppinion about all this scandal surrounding the spanish sport. He won’t sue the channel, but when interviewed by “A Marca”, the coach said: “The french may wait all their lives for a positive doping control by Rafa, there’s no chance to happen, the probability is zero” – Amen.
José Ignacio Wert, the Education, Culture and Sport’s minister in Spain had also somthing to say: “It is intolerable such suggestion of unsporting behavior throughout the Spanish sport. Of course, the videos unacceptable and a deep lack of ethics. After all these years without winning Roland Garros and the Tour de France, they have to blame on someone”
Well, after all those threats by RFET to sue the channel, the French Embassy in Spain, emitted a communicate in order to appease the relationship among France and Spain. ”We hope to add that this decision (the suspension of Spanish cyclist Alberto Contador) doesn’t diminish the admiration we have for Spanish sport and its outstanding results”. Kinda late for it, no?
My opinion
Well, I’m not french, I’m not spanish and I’m just a person watching all this stupid controversy and thinking “What the hell are they fighting for?”. First, I don’t know what was going into Yannick’s mind when he decided to say what he said. It is just a lack of sense by him who offends not only the Spanish sportsmen but also all the well sucessfull players on the sport in they’re competing, to have the best results (remember that he said ”sport is a bit like Cycling at the Olympic Games”, which means here, he wasn’t talking only about the spanish sport, I suppose). I mean, all those great players were doped? Djokovic was doped when he did that amazing season im 2011? Rafa was doped when he won Roland Garros for 6 times? FEDERER WAS DOPED when he won 16 Grand Slam titles? Were Yannick doped when he won Roland Garros? And I’m talking only about tennis, because tennis is the sport I undertand the most, but you shouldn’t forget he talked about all the spanish sportsmen. Football, tennis, cyclism, athletics, they were all included in Noah’s statements. Ridiculous, I think he must respect the spanish sport, because despite I don’t know what’s going on with outside the cameras, I’m sure there’s no doping, but work, dedication and a lot of sweat. Just sing, Noah, just sing!
I also don’t know what was Canal+ “thinking” when they put the video in the air, right after Contador’s suspension (due to doping). I mean, what the f***? Spain was ALL for Contador, nearly 50 million people was on the side of Contador, saying he wasn’t guilty and he never took drugs. When the news were out saying Contador had been suspended for 2 year, all those people got angry, and what did Canal+ do? Put a video on TV joking with the spanish sportsmen, clever isn’t it? Totally innapropriate. I mean, let’s be honest, the video ifself is funny and interesting, but that final phrase? Using RFET’s logo? What the hell? I agree with Toni, RFET and all the Spaniard important people complaining of the video. I’d think fair if RFET sued Canal+, because despite the innaproriate use of the logo, it was a lack of respect by the TV Channel for Nadal, Contador and all the spanish sportsmen, specially, and I’ll say it again, that final phrase.
Just stop it, stop this Frenchie-Spaniard controversy! I think not only the Spaniards but also the French are sick of this battle without a winner. Both nations have great players in many sports! I moved from football to tennis, because, despite being a much more interesting sport, I was sick of news about the unforgivable errors by the referees, corruption, bla bla bla, every single day, while the media forgot what is essential in sport…the sport! Tennis is magic, tennis is waking up in the middle of the nigh no matter what hour it is to root for you favorite player, tennis is stop doing an important thing to watch an incredible match (if studying can be considered an important thing, then I’m into that group), tennis is forgetting a cake into the oven because the match is exciting, tennis is much more than a sport, tennis is life!
(if you find any misspellings on the article, please leave a comment below so I can correct it, thanks!)
great, like aways!!!