CF Montreal fires coach over remarks on assassination attempt of former Quebec premier
MLS team CF Montreal announced it is terminating its relationship with Sandro Grande, the day after the club announced it was hiring him to coach the team's reserve squad.
Grande's hiring drew stark rebukes from Parti Quebecois leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon over the former Montreal Impact star's anti-sovereigntist comments after the attempted killing of former Quebec premier Pauline Marois in 2012.
After the Metropolis shooting that left one person dead, Grande wrote on Twitter: "The only mistake the shooter made last night was to miss his target!!! Marois!!! Next time my man! I hope!"
Grande claimed his account was hacked, but admitted to calling separatist voters "hillbillies."
CF Montreal said that hiring Grande was a mistake.
"We regret any repercussions that may have been caused by this decision,” said CF Montreal president and CEO Gabriel Gervais. “We would like to extend our sincerest apologies to anyone who was hurt or shocked. Clearly, we have demonstrated a lack of sensibility and have grossly underestimated what he said and what he did several years ago."
Gervais held a news conference Tuesday afternoon to discuss the controversy, where he gave an apology to former premier Marois, to the Parti Quebecois, to the team's partners and supporters and to "all Quebecers who were hurt and shocked."
Gervais said he was aware of the tweets before hiring Grande into the role.
"Yes, we were eyes wide open with this decision. We made a mistake," he said. "We made the decision to separate ourselves for the best of the club, that's my job, to protect the interests of the club, of our organization."
Patrick Viollat will become head coach of the reserve squad.
Premier Francois Legault praised CF Montreal's decision to terminate its relationship with Grande.
"This story should remind us of the importance of never trivializing the attack on the Metropolis that occurred in September 2012," Legault wrote in a tweet.
The Quebec Liberal Party added its rebuke of the hiring on social media with interim leader Marc Tanguay posting that it was "not acceptable."
"We must not trivialize the violent remarks he made in the past," Tanguay wrote. "Sport should be used to promote values of respect and solidarity."
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