Paul Pogba ‘will QUIT France team’ after Emmanuel Macron said Islam was the source of terrorism

Manchester United star Paul Pogba will reportedly quit his France duties after statements by president Emmanuel Macron alleging that Islam was the source of international terrorism, according to various Middle Eastern news sources.

The midfielder resigned after comments made by the French president on Friday, as well as the French government’s decision to honour the teacher who had published images of the prophet Mohammed, which Pogba reportedly resented.

The football star’s alleged decision comes in the wake of the beheading of teacher Samuel Paty, 47, who was attacked on his way home from the junior high school where he taught in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, 40 kilometres northwest of Paris.

Paul Pogba has reportedly quit playing for France over President Emmanuel Macron’s comments

He was awarded the French Legion d’honneur, the highest decoration bestowed by the French state, in recognition of the fact that he died trying to explain the importance of freedom of speech.

Macron described the murder as an ‘Islamic terrorist attack’ that took the life of the French teacher and later added: ‘Unity and firmness are the only answers to the monstrosity of Islamist terrorism.’

Pogba’s resignation was published Sunday in the Arabic sports website, which said that the decision to give the teacher the Legion d’honneur and the comments were the motivation for his decision to stop playing as a French international. 

It said Pogba considered the decision as an insult to him and to French Muslims, especially since Islam is the second religion in France after Christianity.

Calls are growing meanwhile around the world for people to boycott French goods in the wake of the president’s comments accusing Muslims of separatism and he pledged not to give up cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed.

More to follow…