Patrice Evra questions Covid death figures in bizarre sceptic interview

Patrice Evra has revealed that he is a Covid-sceptic as he questioned Bill Gates' role in the Covid-19 pandemic in a controversial interview given to French TV. Evra - who was defending the right of individuals not to be vaccinated - said that he thinks that the coronavirus pandemic is 'political' and 'creates fear' - claiming that American billionaire Bill Gates has played a role in it. The 40-year-old suggested that people are 'talking too much' about the pandemic and that 'we have to be careful'.

"At the moment I think we are talking too much about this Covid," Evra told BFM TV on Thursday.

"We have to be honest, there are people who have died of Covid, but I have the impression today that you are even in a car accident, we are going to say it is because you have Covid.

"For me, it is political and I have always said: when you want to govern, and to lead people, it is with fear. We have to be careful." While the former Manchester United defender didn't reveal whether he had the vaccine or not, he insisted that anti-vaxxers should not be reprimanded. He added: "This debate, really it is personal. "I don't understand when there are people who say: 'are you vaccinated? are you not vaccinated?' Everyone is free to do what they want. "I mean, it has to stop now: 'because he's not vaccinated he's a bad person. Because he is vaccinated, he is good'. No, everyone is free to do what they want, everyone is free to believe what they want. "We must allow people the right to do what they want. Because no one really knows what this is this Covid, where it comes from. For me it is by chance. We are not going to lie to each other. It is by chance this Covid." https://twitter.com/GFFN/status/1481598922745421826 When the Frenchman was asked to elaborate on his comments, he bizarrely added: "Because there is Bill Gates who already spoke about it in a conference in 2013... afterwards I'm not someone [who says] this thing was programmed but I prefer... if people spoke about it one day, because that I always speak frankly but the Covid, personally, me, it does not scare me." In April 2020, Evra posted a message on social media in which he urged people to stay at home after he lost a family member to the virus. His post read: "Guys, everyone needs to stay safe and stay home! This is so important for everybody, no matter what colour, race or religion you are. Just be a good human being!

"I would like to send a message to the people struggling right now. There are people who don't understand the situation and I was one of them 20 days ago. Before that, I didn't believe the news, I was walking outside. But when it eats a member of your family, I was like 'calm down' and I quarantined myself.

"We need to be together to get out of this situation. I think this is a massive test, whether you believe in God or not. We are whole, together right now. First of all, please stay home, so we don't spread the coronavirus. This a test, stay calm, stay positive. This is about being kind to each other and helping each other."

However, it now seems that Evra has adopted a less severe stance, backtracking on his previous comments. It goes without saying, but please don't make retired footballers your go-to source of Covid information. Listen to the experts, and the World Health Organisation. Related links:

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