Former France international, Lilian Thuram says he is shocked that his son Marcus spit in the face of a Bundesliga opponent.
Marcus who plays for Bundesliga club Borussia Monchengladbach has been banned for six matches by the German Football Association after he spat at Hoffenheim’s Stefan Posch.
The 23-year-old was also fined a month’s wages by the German club after the incident in the second half of Saturday’s 2-1 home defeat, with a further penalty of €40,000 levied by the DFB.
The sixth match of the suspension has been suspended by 12 months and his famous father, a World Cup and European Championship winner with France, was less than impressed with his son’s antics.
“It’s completely understandable what is happening in the media,” Thuram told RCI Guadeloupe.
“I myself was watching the match, I was extremely shocked. “I even asked myself the question of whether that was really my son.
“Afterwards, I had his explanation, which is to say that he was raging with anger, and so he insulted the opponent and without actually doing it on purpose, he had saliva which came out.
“What he wants is for people to remember that it’s unintentional because he says himself, ‘But Dad, I wouldn’t want people to think I’m capable of spitting on someone on purpose because it doesn’t make sense’.”
Retired former Juventus and Barcelona defender Thuram explained Marcus had called younger brother Khephren, who plays for Nice, from the dressing room to explain the situation.
It remains to be seen whether the incident will have an adverse affect on Marcus Thuram’s hopes of playing for France in the delayed Euro 2020 finals next year.
Lilian Thuram said his Germany-based son would have to tolerate the sanctions against him, adding: “He accepts – and I think it’s normal – that he should be punished because indeed, it is a gesture that must not exist on the football field.”
