PARIS - Bordeaux coach Willy Sagnol has apologized for making disparaging comments about African players in football, although he still maintains they were misinterpreted against a backlash of widespread criticism. Air Force 1 Ireland Clearance .Sagnol, capped 58 times by France and a member of the team which lost the 2006 World Cup final, gave a question and answer session Tuesday to readers of Sud Ouest regional newspaper when the subject of African players was raised.The advantage of what I would call the typical African player is that he isnt expensive when you sign him, (he is) a player who is ready for combat, but football isnt just about that, Sagnol said.Explaining himself, he continued: Football is also (about) technique, intelligence. You need a bit of everything. You need Nordics too, Nordics are good.Speaking Thursday at a pre-match news conference ahead of Saturdays game with Lens, Sagnol tried to explain his comments.If by my lack of clarity, or my imperfect semantics, I may have shocked, humiliated or hurt people then I am sorry, Sagnol said. The interpretation that these people may have made does not reflect my way of thinking in any way or my humanist convictions.However, he said the comments made sense in a sporting context.When I spoke about the African (player) who is cheaper and ready for combat, I simply meant to talk about the young African player arriving in Europe with all of his will to win and often to escape from a precarious situation, Sagnol continued as he read from pre-prepared notes. Then, since we were in a debate about football, the intelligence I spoke of was obviously related to tactical intelligence. The forming of young players in Africa, probably because of a lack of financial means, or (lack) of infrastructure, isnt always as complete as whats available in Europe.Sagnol distanced himself from accusations that his viewpoint was offensive.In no way did I mean to talk about an individuals intelligence in the proper sense of the term. Regarding certain accusations of racism, Im 37 (and) Ive spent 32 of them in a football dressing room. Ive never had a problem with anyone, the former Bayern Munich player said.But Lens coach Antoine Kombouare, who was born in New Caledonia, is among those who felt offended by Sagnol.Lets make things clear: this is not a case of him being clumsy. Hes really messed up, Kombouare said. What he said is serious. Its unacceptable. Explaining that an African player is cheaper ... I felt humiliated and hurt.The International League against Racism and Anti-Semitism (LICRA) strongly condemned Sagnol, as did former Marseille president Pape Diouf, who called for African players to boycott one round of French league games in protest.French Football Federation president Noel Le Graet, who formerly employed Sagnol as coach of Frances Under-21 side, defended him, while former teammate Lilian Thuram — an active anti-racism campaigner — was more measured.I played alongside Willy, hes somebody I respect. I know him very well, Thuram told Sud Ouest. I dont think you should put Willy Sagnol on trial, but you should put prejudice on trial. Each one of us harbours some prejudice, which is why people working in football, who have a certain exposure to the media, should be educated on this subject.Sagnols captain at Bordeaux is Senegal international Lamine Sane, who called Sagnols comments clumsy before defending him, as did club president Jean-Louis Triaud.He doesnt have any twisted ideas. He believes in all the black players in the team, Sane told French radio. We believe in him and we hope to go very far with him.Bordeaux forward Henri Saivet, who is black, told RMC radio that Sagnol apologized.We all now pertinently well that the coach is not a racist, Saivet said. Its true that, at first, we asked ourselves a few questions. But he explained how it happened. He apologized to the players. That was very important. Cheap Air Force Ones For Sale . Chan captured two silver medals at last months Sochi Winter Games — mens singles and the inaugural team event. But he doesnt have the urge to resume training to defend his world title when the event is held in Saitama, Japan, later this month. Wholesale Air Force 1 Ireland . -- Lindsey Vonn squeezed in a little freeskiing on Thanksgiving morning, a step in the right direction for a return to racing after reinjuring her right knee in a recent training crash. http://www.airforce1ireland.com/ . Olsen, who is 6-foot-3 and 305 pounds, can play either centre or guard. The 25-year-old Olsen played 16 games and made four starts in 2012 with the New Orleans Saints.PINEHURST, N.C. -- Lucy Lis friends back in California have been filling her inbox with emails. Thats the only way they can reach her at the U.S. Womens Open. The 11-year-old is too young for a cellphone. "Theyre like, Oh, youre famous now," she said, laughing. Li made quite an impression at Pinehurst No. 2 -- even if she didnt make it to the weekend. The youngest qualifier in the history of the tournament mostly held her own at the Womens Open. For the second straight day, a couple of rough holes proved to be her undoing. Hurt by a double bogey and a triple bogey, Li shot her second straight 8-over 78. According to her caddie, this week was never about her score. "She was here for the experience and the opportunity to play with the best players in the world," caddie Bryan Bush said. "She proved that she can." Li was 22 strokes behind leader Michelle Wie and 19 behind Lexi Thompson, who both know about playing the Womens Open at a young age. Wies first was in 2003 when she was 13. In 2007, Thompson became the youngest to qualify at age 12 -- until Li supplanted her. "I hope shes havving a blast out there," Wie said. Air Force 1 Ireland Cheap. All eyes were on the pre-teen from the Bay Area who showed a beyond-her-years knack for bouncing back from mistakes and rough holes. She bounced back from her roughest hole -- the par-4 13th -- with one of her best. Lis tee shot on 13 landed in some thick weeds, and she missed the ball when she tried to punch it out. After a brief chat with USGA President Tom OToole, she took a drop and her shot from that rough ricocheted off the green and near the seating area. After she chipped to about 15 feet, she pushed that putt wide right and tapped in for her second triple bogey of the tournament. She came back strong: Li birdied the 14th -- her favourite moment of the tournament -- and closed her round with pars on three of her final four holes to match her opening-round score. "Im really happy with how I bounced back from the big numbers," Li said. Marlene Bauers place in tournament history as the youngest player to make the cut remained safe: She was 13 in 1947 in the second Womens Open before going on to become one of the founders of the LPGA Tour. 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