Paris Saint-Germain manager Laurent Blanc has admitted that he reacted "very badly" to homophobic comments made by his full-back Serge Aurier last week.
In a session on video streaming service Periscope, the 23-year-old labelled his boss "a faggot" and accused him of engaging in oral sex with star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Aurier subsequently apologised for his "unforgivable" remarks but was suspended by the Ligue 1 leaders and will play no part in the Champions League clash with Chelsea this week.
"How did I react? Very badly. Very badly," Blanc told reporters at a pre-match press conference today. "Because we can think whatever we think, this is democracy, we are free to think what we think and we can have our own opinions in our country, that's good.
"But two years ago, I committed myself to making that boy come to Paris, and I think seeing what I saw yesterday, that's all the thanks I got. I think that's really pitiful. I won't say more because I'm here to talk about the Chelsea game, a very important game, but I think that he should have been preparing today for our last-16 game of the Champions League tomorrow. That would have been better instead of staying home and not knowing what to do.
"That's penalising for him but what I don't accept either is that is also bad for the club. It's also penalising for the club. The player is a big boy, he can do what he wants, and he will handle the consequences but he's penalising the club for the image he gives and the things he said.
"I know many of this new generation of players spend their time feeling sorry and excusing themselves, but I think before excusing yourself you need to think about what to do. You don't need to feel sorry every time."
PSG's 16-game winning streak came to an end at the weekend as they were held to a draw with Lille.
Neil Wilkes
