On Monday, January 9, CF Montreal announced that it had hired former player Sandro Grande to coach the team’s reserve squad.
On Tuesday, the club announced that he would be terminated.
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
Anti-sovereignty remarks made by Grande a little over a decade ago sparked the MLS club’s change of heart.
Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, leader of the Parti Quebecois, was a notable critic of Grande’s recent hiring due to the former Montreal Impact star’s comments following the attempted assassination of former PQ leader Pauline Marois in 2012.
A post from Grande’s old Twitter account regarding the incident read: “The only mistake the shooter made last night was to miss his target!!! Marois!!! Next time my man! I hope!”
Grande denied posting the tweet and claimed he was hacked.
“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 Gabriel Gervais, President and CEO of CF Montreal. “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.”
CF Montreal also announced that Patrick Viollat had been appointed head coach of the reserve squad.
Team President and CEO Gabriel Gervais will answer questions from the media today at 1 pm.
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