St Etienne defender Faouzi Ghoulam claims comments he made about players choosing Algeria over France have been misconstrued.
Defender defends comments regarding dual citizenship
St Etienne defender Faouzi Ghoulam claims comments he made about players choosing Algeria over France have been misconstrued.
The 20-year-old, who qualifies to play for both countries, has decided to nail his international colours to the French mast.
He has represented the land of his birth at U21 level and is tipped to make the step up into the senior fold in the future.
Ghoulam is happy with his choice and claims every player with dual citizenship should have the right to decide which path to tread.
He has, however, seen comments attributed to him suggesting that some players go for the easier option when a certain route is blocked, cause uproar.
In response, Ghoulam told
L'Equipe: "I just said some players did the opposite to me, perhaps because there is too much competition in their position and they could not get a position in the France team, even if they would love to play for France.
Traitor
"They make a decision for sporting reasons by choosing their country of origin. But I never said that they choose Algeria by default.
"People don't look at what you said. They forget that I said 'perhaps' and they slam me.
"I have been called a traitor but I am not in a war. I must not choose my camp. I am just a 20-year-old football player.
"I am proud of my origins. I love both Algeria and France.
"I made a choice choosing the country where I was born and grew up. Please leave me alone!"
