the questions raised by the chambering of Presnel Kimpembe

2023-04-17 08:00:00

THE MONDAY TACKLE. The Parisian defender took over a Lensois song to respond to the defeat of the first leg. A sequence that did not please everyone.

By Adrian Mathieu

Presnel Kimpembe wanted to respond to the Lensois after the defeat of PSG in the first leg.
© HERVIO JEAN-MARIE / KMSP / KMSP via AFP

Published on 04/17/2023 at 08:00

Subscriber-only audio playback

LHas football become too fragile to the point of being offended by a chambering? After the Ligue 1 clash between PSG and RC Lens, won 3-1 by the Parisians, attention turned to post-match celebrations.

Injured and on crutches, Presnel Kimpembe went to the lawn to sing “We have them chicotés”, a song that has become customary among the Lensois. We remember that at the end of the first leg won by the Sang et Or last January, Racing had won and it was even the coach, Franck Haise, who had started the song.

“I find it a bit small, but then everyone does what they want”

The central defender therefore wanted to take his revenge, but some did not appreciate it. Several Lensois, including Seko Fofana, the captain, were waiting for him at the entrance to the Parc des Princes tunnel to explain himself. The joke was not to everyone’s taste and that’s the problem: you have to accept being able to be laughed at in turn. Some have pointed to the difference in status between a PSG with a colossal payroll and Lensois with much more modest finances. But we must change perspective and rather take it as a reward: seeing Parisian stars consider them to this point, the Sang et Or prove their change in dimension.

The Lensois goalkeeper Brice Samba has in any case measured the scope of this song after having exchanged with Kimpembe. “I said to him, why did you sing that? It didn’t have to be. You are PSG, you have the best budget in the League and we have the 11^e budget. I find it a little small, but then everyone does what they want. This song, we sing it at every match, whether it’s Angers, Paris… It’s not to piss anyone off. But hey, I’m proud, it’s a message that they sang that at home, that says it all. »

Fekir, Ronaldo… rooms that have become memorable

This is not the first time that a chambering of Paris Saint-Germain has been talked about. During the 2019-2020 season, the capital club eliminated Borussia Dortmund in 8^e final of the Champions League by taking up the pose of Erling Haaland. The Norwegian striker then celebrated his goals in the lotus, yoga position. Neymar and his family had a field day. There is nothing wrong with spoofing your vis-à-vis. And if we in turn were teasing, we would have liked to see these images against Bayern Munich last March, and not heads down and stares into space.

This fashion of trashtalking, very popular in the United States and especially in the NBA, has since invaded European lawns. Nabil Fekir showing off his shirt to the Geoffroy-Guichard crowd, Cristiano Ronaldo asking Camp Nou to calm down, and Emmanuel Adebayor walking up a whole field to celebrate in front of Arsenal fans: these few scenes have become part of the legend of the round ball. Here, we will never say no to the art of teasing and joking, but you still have to know how to handle it with accuracy.

READ ALSO“It’s the red zone”: PSG supporters say no to the Stade de France

By taking up the Lensois song, which concludes each of the victories of the Artois club at home, Presnel Kimpembe wanted to respond to what he considered an affront in the first leg. “It’s good war,” even admitted Franck Haise after the meeting. But Saturday night’s scene was unremarkable. Microphone in hand, the Parisian defender tried to harangue the crowd, but in a Parc des Princes increasingly filled with tourists, the French international flopped. Few of his teammates have accompanied him. It did not have the same flavor at all as when Bollaert sings this song in chorus, if that can console the Lensois!