Former Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Clement Chantome has called Serge Aurier's recent behaviour disturbing after the right-back's controversial slit-throat celebration while on international duty with the Ivory Coast.
Aurier, 23, put in a cross that Mali's Salif Coulibaly turned into his own net in a 3-1 World Cup qualifying win and proceeded to celebrate with the Ivorian supporters with a throat-slitting gesture.
Chantome, 29, is a popular figure with PSG fans after his 15 years with the French champions from the youth academy to the senior side. The France international, now with Stade Rennais, knows Aurier off the pitch but said the defender "does not know why" he is behaving the way he has been since the start of 2016.
VIDEO - Nouvelle polémique autour de Serge #Aurier après une célébration controversée lors de Côte d'Ivoire - Mali https://t.co/gKfXEe1imc pic.twitter.com/5Ny2fd2r8r
- Yahoo Sport (@YahooSportFR) October 9, 2016
"I am glad I am not on social media much with this sort of thing," Chantome told beIN Sports France. "He is a really nice guy. Tell him to stop? It has all been said already. He is a very nice guy, one who understands things. He is young too...
"I was there to watch PSG versus Bordeaux [PSG won 2-0] and he was suspended. We watched the match together and I asked him 'Why are you doing this?' and he does not know why, that is what is most disturbing.
"The Periscope thing [Aurier insulted former coach Laurent Blanc during a Periscope interview], I know that left a mark. He knew he harmed individuals and the club. The season became complicated for the team as a result."
Aurier's recent celebration with Ivory Coast is not the first time the former Toulouse and Lens man has courted controversy this year.
He was suspended internally after the Persicope debacle and is now awaiting the result of an appeal against a "convertible" two-month prison sentence after being charged with assaulting a police officer.
Before that, Aurier was banned by UEFA for insulting referee Bjorn Kuipers on social media during a Champions League clash with Chelsea in 2015.
L'Equipe reported that a member of Aurier's entourage said no controversy was intended with his recent celebration.