Serge Aurier revisits apology to Laurent Blanc in a controversial act
On Friday evening, Canal+ Foot broadcast a new episode of Detective Mathoux in which right‑back Serge Aurier, currently club‑less after his departure from Persepolis, offered a public apology to his former coach Laurent Blanc.
A theatrical staging
The programme recreated the Periscope affair, ten years after Aurier's insulting remarks towards Blanc, calling him a “wimp”. Journalist Hervé Mathoux moistened Aurier's eyes with an onion before he read his apology text.
"Dear coach, if you only knew how sorry I am. Ten years have passed, and I can’t stop thinking about you. Let’s talk over a coffee. I’m inviting you, I insist. Please, coach, forgive me," said the Ivorian international.
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Aurier's humorous tone drew mixed reactions, notably from former athlete and sports consultant Héloïse Kane, who criticised the staging as “dubious” and detrimental to the player’s image.
At the time, Aurier's remarks had led PSG to ban him from playing with the CFA, before he returned to the first‑team squad for the first leg of the Champions League quarter‑final against Manchester City on 6 April 2016 at the Parc des Princes.
The right‑back, born in Ouragahio, Ivory Coast, has remained club‑less since his departure from Persepolis, an Iranian top‑flight club, and perhaps hopes that this statement will ease tensions with French football.