President and CEO of CF Montreal Gabriel Gervais speaks to the media during a news conference, Tuesday, March 29, 2022 in Montreal. CF Montreal has terminated the contract of its reserve squad coach Sandro Grande less than a day after hiring him after political backlash over previous comments about Quebec's 2012 election night shooting.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz
MONTREAL – CF Montreal has terminated the contract of its reserve squad coach after political backlash over years-old comments on his Twitter account suggesting the former premier of Quebec should be assassinated.
The Major League Soccer club on Tuesday said it would end its deal with Sandro Grande less than a day after announcing his hiring, with team president and CEO Gabriel Gervais saying it was a “mistake” to bring him on with the team.
“We recognize that the hiring of Sandro Grande was a mistake and we regret the repercussions caused by this decision,” Gervais said, offering an apology.
“Obviously, we lacked sensitivity and greatly underestimated the comments made and the gestures he made several years ago.”
Grande was under fire over comments on social media he made in the wake of the 2012 Quebec election night shooting outside a Parti Québécois gathering with leader Pauline Marois. A post from his Twitter account read: “The only mistake the shooter made last night was to miss his target!!! Marois!!! Next time buddy! Hopefully!”
That night a gunman shot dead lighting technician Denis Blanchette at the rear of the venue and seriously injured a second technician, David Courage, who was struck with the same bullet.
Grande had claimed his account was hacked, according to La Presse, but the former soccer player did admit to having called separatist voters “hillbillies” and “stupid.”
He apologized at the time for the comments on his Twitter feed, and he issued another apology Monday in a statement by the club announcing his hiring.
“I am very grateful and happy to have the opportunity to return to the club that I have loved since my childhood,” Grande said. “I made serious mistakes several years ago and I am deeply sorry for disrespecting anyone.”
Grande added that he had learned much since then and was eager to join the organization where “the values of inclusion and diversity are fundamental.”
Grande had played with the organization but was released in 2009 for grabbing teammate Mauro Biello by the throat during training.
“I think that it is important to use our personal experiences to continually improve and correct our past mistakes,” Grande said.
The political reaction to his hiring was immediate and almost unanimous.
PQ Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon called the team’s decision unacceptable in a series of tweets Monday.
“I have read his apologies (Monday) which are insufficient and which fail to mention the group he was targeting (the sovereigntists) or the person he wanted to see killed (Pauline Marois),” St-Pierre Plamondon wrote.
“He repeatedly made filthy and criminal remarks targeting more than two million separatist Quebecers; this tacit endorsement by CF Montreal is untenable and extremely uncomfortable,” he wrote.
Ewan Sauves, spokesman for Quebec Premier François Legault, said Grande’s appointment “lacks respect and sends the wrong message. It’s a big lack of judgment on the part of CF Montreal.”
Liberal member Marwah Rizqy also denounced the hiring. “Ms. Pauline Marois was the victim of a political attack. Ms. Marois stood up in the face of terror, literally! It is up to us today to stand up. Let us not trivialize either gestures or words,” Rizqy wrote.
Grande had been hired along with Patrick Viollat to oversee the reserve squad. The club says Viollat will now take over as head coach of that team.
Gervais is expected to meet reporters later Tuesday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 10, 2023.
Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version said the comment about the election night shooting was made on Grande’s Facebook account.
