Former France captain Patrice Evra denies homophobia claims after social media spat with Paris Saint-Germain

Patrice Evra has hit back at accusations of homophobia after Paris Saint-Germain blasted the former France captain for calling the Ligue 1 club “a bunch of queers” in the aftermath of their Champions League exit to Manchester United. Earlier, PSG condemned “Patrice Evra’s homophobic insults aimed at us… on social media” after a bizarre spat in which Evra used the French word “pede”, a derogatory term for homosexuals, to describe the Parisians. [caption id=“attachment_6293551” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Marseille’s Patrice Evra. AFP[/caption] Nonetheless, the 37-year-old claimed his comments had been twisted by the French media. “I made a video, as a joke as a friend, and the French media, they take it because I used the word ‘pede’, so they translated as I am against the gay people,” Evra said on Twitter. “I am not homophobic. I love everybody. So if I offend someone or I hurt someone, I already apologised. “You have to be free for whatever you want to do in life, I will never judge anyone. Only God can judge me.” Tensions began to mount between PSG and Evra when the former United defender posted a video on Instagram, where he has 5.8 million followers, from PSG’s Parc des Princes stadium celebrating the Premier League side’s stunning 3-1 away win in the Champions League last 16. This drew criticism from former PSG player and television pundit Jerome Rothen, who was a France and Monaco teammate of Evra. Evra responded to Rothen by threatening to “smash his face in”. The left-back, who played 379 times for United and 81 times for France, has a history of provocative statements and was the French captain during their infamous strike at the 2010 World Cup.