2023-10-05 06:38:09
It looks like a sad chestnut tree. After the refusal of certain players last May to wear the LGBT armband, Ligue 1 stadiums have once again been the scene of homophobic incidents in recent weeks. While the Professional Football League (LFP) examines this Thursday, October 5, offensive chants sung on Sunday, October 1 by ultras from Stade Rennes during a match against Nantes, the associations deplore the lack of adequate sanctions to counter this phenomenon.
A political response
The Minister of Sports, Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, publicly called for “absolute firmness against the unacceptable”. A position welcomed by associations: “The foundations on which the LFP has been dysfunctional for years are collapsing”rejoices Julien Pontes, spokesperson for the Rouge Direct association, which fights discrimination in stadiums. “The minister was very clear in wanting to reconsider stopping the matches. »“She also heard us on the judicialization of these cases”, explains the community activist. As proof, the minister asked Paris Saint Germain to file a complaint against the supporters who made homophobic chants during the match against Olympique de Marseille on September 24. “What the club has still not done”notes, bitterly, Julien Pontes.
For his part, Jean-Baptiste Montarnier, president of the LGBT association Bleus et proud, judges that“there is no progress, there is even setback. Four years ago, we stopped the matches because the minister at the time (Roxana Maracineanu, editor’s note) took a public position. » A measure since abandoned by the LFP. “However, the League has an obligation to denounce homophobic chants and report them to the prosecutor, which it never does”, he laments. In support, a 2023-2026 plan to combat hatred and anti-LGBTQI+ discrimination was presented last July by the then Minister for Equality between Women and Men, Isabelle Lonvis-Rome. The latter provides in particular for a stadium ban for any person who has committed an offense of homophobia.
A divided associative fabric
If the LFP can sanction a club, by requiring it to close a stand or by withdrawing points from the ranking, even within the associative environment, opinions differ. For Yoann Lemaire, president of the Foot ensemble association, which acts against discrimination in football, sanctioning a club sportingly “would be counterproductive”. “There are already supporters of a team who put on their opponent’s jersey and sing chants to try to make their competitors lose points”, explains the association leader. Same story regarding a possible closure of the stands: “Songs can come from all stands, as well (that of) VIP who (that of) families, even (of the) sponsors’ stands who call the referee all the names, we have already seen it. »
He knows his position has been criticized by other associations because it is too tolerant of the LFP. But Yoann Lemaire insists: he prefers to bet on “pedagogy”. “For many authors, their comments are not homophobia.We must explain to them the weight of words and the issues. Sometimes we talk with prosecutors, and comments that seem homophobic to us are not always considered as such in the eyes of the law. »
A speech that does not convince. “There cannot be awareness without sanctions, it goes hand in hand”says Jean-Baptiste Montarnier.
The silence of the FFF
The only criticism shared between the associations is the lack of a position taken by the French Football Federation (FFF). According to them, the body in charge of amateur football and the national team, which has authority over the LFP, must also play its role. “It must ensure that evil does not take root from a very young age, in small structuresconsiders Julien Pontes. This is where pedagogy can be useful. »
Change must also come through the main actors, that is to say the players. This Thursday, October 5, the LFP will also rule on the case of four PSG players – Achraf Hakimi, Layvin Kurzawa, Ousmane Dembélé and Randol Kolo Muani – who had sung homophobic chants insulting towards the Marseillais. “It wouldn’t occur to a player to sing a racist song, so they also need to be aware”, explains Jean-Baptiste Montarnier. The latter remains quite pessimistic about the content of the LFP sanctions. “They will not be up to the task and it will start again with a vengeancehe fears. I see it on social networks currently, some supporters are up in arms and still display crass homophobia whenever our associations take a position. »
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