CF Montreal terminates coach Sandro Grande’s contract after political backlash over comments

CF Montreal has terminated the contract of its reserve squad coach after a political backlash over his previous comments about Quebec’s 2012 election night shooting.

“We made a mistake. We made the decision to separate ourselves for the best of the club,” explained president and CEO Gabriel Gervais.

The Major League Soccer club announced Tuesday morning the end of its deal with Sandro Grande less than a day after he was hired.

Gabriel Gervais – CF Montreal CEO and President – Jan 10 2023. (Photo Credit: Martin Daigle, CityNews)

Grande was under fire over comments he made in the wake of the 2012 Quebec election night shooting outside a Parti Québécois gathering, notably writing on Twitter that the only mistake the shooter made was missing his target.

Grande issued an apology in a statement released by the club on Monday, but the political reaction was almost immediate from politicians of all stripes.

“We recognize that the hiring of Sandro Grande was a mistake, and we regret any repercussions that may have been caused by this decision,” said 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.”

“I knew about the unfortunate, unacceptable incident that happened in 2012. But I also saw Sandro mature during the last ten years, express his profound interest to come to the club,” said Gervais.

Gabriel Gervais – CF Montreal CEO and President – Jan 10 2023, Martin Daigle. (Photo Credit: Martin Daigle, CityNews)

The actual attempt on Pauline Marois’ life was condemned by all politicians at that time, no matter what the political strife and that was the appropriate response to the actual incident,” said Eleni Bakopanos, political analyst and former federal MP. “And for him to have put that online as a comment was totally beyond anything that I can say, I mean, it was inappropriate, mysogynistic.”

Le CF Montréal met fin à son entente avec Sandro Grande >>> https://t.co/TMDvivyyJI

CF Montréal terminates its relationship with Sandro Grande >>> https://t.co/inBpeywrGI#CFMTL pic.twitter.com/hecaqgHVCI

— CF Montréal (@cfmontreal) January 10, 2023

PQ Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon called the hiring unacceptable in a series of tweets Monday and a spokesman for Quebec Premier François Legault said Tuesday that Grande’s appointment showed a lack of respect given his past unacceptable and hurtful remarks.

1/4 Le PQ dénonce vivement cette nomination inacceptable.

En rappel, dans les heures qui ont suivi le drame du Métropolis, Grande a publié ceci : «La seule erreur que le tireur a commise la nuit dernière, c'est de rater sa cible! Marois! La prochaine fois mon gars! J'espère!» https://t.co/dfXzkxJavu

— Paul St-Pierre Plamondon (@PaulPlamondon) January 10, 2023

Je salue la décision du CF Montréal de mettre fin à son entente avec Sandro Grande. Cette histoire doit nous rappeler l’importance de ne jamais banaliser l’attentat du Métropolis survenu en septembre 2012.

— François Legault (@francoislegault) January 10, 2023

Legault added in his tweet that: “This story should remind us of the importance of never trivializing the attack on the Metropolis that occurred in September 2012.”

“There was a study done recently by the IPU, the Inter-Parliamentary Union of All Parliaments, and there was at least an 80 per cent increase in the last few years of online harassment on all social platforms against all parliamentarians, but particularly more vicious attacks on women. the club should have really vetted it a little more carefully,” said Bakopanos.

“We knew what we were getting ourselves into. He knows his past better than anybody else,” said Gervais. “Our thought of giving him a second chance that, you know, blurred really our decision-making process here.”

Gabriel Gervais – CF Montreal CEO and President – Jan 10 2023. (Photo Credit: Martin Daigle, CityNews)

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 10, 2023.