Matildas star Mary Fowler has claimed she experienced racism while at Montpellier in 2022 when she was given bananas while others in the squad received flowers at the end of her final season with the French club.
The explosive revelations are contained in her memoir Bloom, which was released this week and details the extensive challenges she has faced in her young career, including a pattern of self harm she has worked hard to overcome.
Her difficult time at Montpellier, where she moved at 17, ended three years ago when she was among a group that would not be returning at the end of their contracts.
Other players also set to leave were presented with flowers, but Fowler and a friend of hers – another international player – received nothing.
Amid confusion in the dressing room afterwards about why some players were given gifts and some weren’t, the Australian with Papua New Guinea heritage alleges she was then given bananas.
“Afterwards, when we got inside the changing room, some of our teammates questioned why we hadn’t received any flowers. We shrugged our shoulders, just as clueless as they were. A few of the girls laughed about it and then one of the other players came over and handed my friend and me some bananas, saying, ‘Here, have these.’ That was the cherry on top,” she said.
“Since leaving Montpellier, my friend and I have spoken about that moment a few times. Not receiving flowers was one thing, but as two of only six black girls in the squad, receiving bananas wasn’t something I could laugh off and forget about. Was it an accident? Was it the only thing in the dressing room she could give us? Did she mean well by it?
“I’ve tried to justify it in many different ways, trying to find any indication that it was an honest mistake. But when I add in the many other times at the club when we were left feeling a similar way, it was hard to see it as merely a simple error. No matter what the intentions were, it left us feeling taken aback and upset.”
The incident marked the end of a largely unhappy time for Fowler in France. She also alleges club staff accused her of feigning chest pains, even though they had been notified of a possible health issue by Matildas staff.
A Montpellier physio who spoke English passed on to the teenager that other members of the staff believed Fowler was feigning injury to avoid playing.
“I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Frustrated, I told him I wasn’t making it up, that I’d never make up something that could be related to my heart. He informed me that it wasn’t his opinion – he believed me – but all the coaching staff thought I was making it up so that I could get out of playing in our match the next day.”
She says she subsequently raised the issue with a coach.
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“In English, I told him again that I wasn’t faking the chest pains I’d experienced and wasn’t going to play until I got it checked out. Then he started throwing minutes at me. Could I play for 60 minutes? Thirty? Ten? ‘The team needs you,’ he said. I shook my head.
“It wasn’t a situation I’d expected to be in. He wasn’t showing any empathy at all. I ended the conversation by saying: ‘If you’re not going to look after me then I’m going to look after myself. I’ll be at the game, but I won’t be putting my boots on.’”
Montpellier was contacted by the Guardian for comment.
Fowler was ultimately allowed to miss the game, and the club did provide her with checks afterwards that cleared her of a heart condition.
“I’ve still experienced it in recent years, but after even more extensive heart checks, we’ve come to the conclusion that it’s most likely a muscular or skeletal issue,” she said.
“I’m very grateful that it’s not something that ended my career.”
