2023-09-25 12:22:02
Homophobic chants were sung during PSG-OM on Sunday. The Parisian club faces a sanction… but the last one of its kind in France was a long time ago.
On the sidelines of Paris Saint-Germain’s big victory against Olympique de Marseille on Sunday (4-0) during the 6th day of Ligue 1, insulting and homophobic chants were sung by Parisian supporters. “The people of Marseillais are bastards, sons of bastards, bastards…», We could hear at the Parc des Princes, as evidenced by videos shared on social networks. PSG could be sanctioned by the Professional Football League (LFP), especially after its disciplinary committee was “seizure», as Sports Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra declared on Monday on X (ex-Twitter). Sanctions have already been handed out in the past in France on this subject.
At the start of the 2019-20 season, several clubs and supporters were singled out for this type of chanting. A few months earlier, former Sports Minister Roxana Maracineanu said she was in favor of stopping matches in the event of homophobic chants. This is what happened during Nancy-Le Mans in Ligue 2 on August 16, or during Nice-OM in L1 on August 28. AS Nancy-Lorraine was sanctioned by the LFP with the closure of its Piantoni stand for one match. OGC Nice, for remarks “of a discriminatory nature» emanating from his supporters, had seen the “upper part of the South Stand» of the Allianz Riviera be closed for a match.
No sanctions in France since 2019
Marseille, which had already experienced incidents of this type, had been deprived of visitor parking for a meeting. But these examples in no way guarantee that PSG will be punished in turn. Also in August 2019, homophobic chants targeting Kylian Mbappé were denounced during Rennes-PSG. Of the “Paris, Paris, on t’enc…» had also resonated. The referee of the match, Antony Gautier, did not stop the game. In his post-match report, he noted insults. All? Not sure. The LFP was content with a call to order with regard to Stade Rennais vis-à-vis “insulting songs”, and non-discriminatory.
In the case of Paris Saint-Germain, we must therefore wonder whether the PSG-OM referee on Sunday, Willy Delajod, recorded insulting chants in his report, and whether the discriminatory nature was retained. If not, the probability that the LFP will sanction PSG, for example by closing the stands for a match, is reduced. But not non-existent. Evidence of these songs exists, and Amélie Oudéa-Castéra gave a completely different resonance to the case by discussing it publicly.
“Urgent to eradicate” homophobic songs, demands Oudéa-Castéra
«I made sure last night that a firm response was given, declared the Minister of Sports. The LFP disciplinary committee has now been contacted. I invite PSG to file a complaint to identify the perpetrators and bring them to justice, so that they are removed from the stadiums.» For the government member, “it is unthinkable to remain deaf to such hateful and homophobic chants in our stands» et «it is urgent to eradicate them from our stadiums».
However, since the 2019-20 season, marked by the interruption of football due to the Covid-19 pandemic and long months with empty stands, no match has been stopped for homophobic chants in France. They have not disappeared from the speakers, far from it: they are simply ignored.
«The LFP lets it happen and becomes complicit», denounced Baptiste Montarnier, president of the LGBT association “Bleus et Fiers” and supporter of the French team, in the columns of West France last January. As the official website of the French administration points out, service-public.frin a case of homophobia, “the penalty incurred is one year’s imprisonment and a fine of €45,000» for insult or public defamation.
#PSG #risk #homophobic #chants #Parc #des #Princes