Paris FC women's sporting director Gaëtane Thiney told AFP on Thursday that Daniel Bravo's sexist remarks about her on beIN Sports were "reprehensible, but not unforgivable", regretting that the affair had "generated too much buzz".

During the broadcast of the PFC-Marseille match (2-2) last Saturday, after a shot showed the head of the PFC women's section in the stands, former player Daniel Bravo, a commentator on beIN Sports, stated that "she wasn't paying much attention," before adding that he had "the impression she was talking about lingerie." He was suspended by the Franco-Qatari channel.

"The remarks are reprehensible, but not unforgivable. I think that when you work in the media, you reflect society and you must be exemplary," explained Thiney, former striker for the French national team (163 caps, 58 goals). The director of Paris FC, where she played for 17 years, nevertheless felt that the story had generated "too much buzz."

"I think we live in a society where we need to be more nuanced. I spent 25 years at the top level, I had one of the longest careers, and I made less headlines than for a story where I was sitting in the stands and someone made a bad joke at the wrong time," she lamented.

"I know Daniel well, I have no problem with him. He apologized immediately. I was in the stands, so I didn't even hear it," she continued. Thiney clarified that she had "read his interview" in Thursday's L'Équipe, where the former PSG and OM midfielder regrets his words and publicly apologizes.

"I sent him a message this morning. If I defend him, people will say it's wrong because I have to represent women, but I will always defend women. What he did wasn't right, what he said wasn't right, it's not good for future generations to speak like that, of course, but come on, let's stop this!" Thiney stated. "In short, it's not normal and I don't condone it, but I think it's being blown way out of proportion," she concluded.