Homophobic chants by some Paris Saint-Germain supporters targeting Marseille players have once again spoiled the biggest match in French football and sparked calls for sanctions.
Homophobic chants from some Paris Saint-Germain fans targeting Marseille players have once again spoiled the biggest match in French football, sparking calls for sanctions.
Olivier Klein, the interministerial delegate for the fight against racism, anti-Semitism and anti-LGBTQ+ hatred (Dilcrah), posted a video on Monday of PSG supporters using homophobic insults against their Marseille rivals.
PSG won the match at Parc des Princes 4-0.
“Very shocked by the unbearable homophobic chants heard at the Parc des Princes,” Klein said on X, the social network formerly known as Twitter. He added that he would ask PSG and the French championship authorities to take sanctions and that he would study the possibility of taking legal action.
In another video, some PSG players were filmed hurling insults at Marseille fans as they celebrated with young people at the end of the match.
French Sports Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castera joined supporters’ criticism. She said the French federation’s disciplinary committee would examine the matter and urged PSG to file a complaint in order to “identify the perpetrators and bring them to justice, so that they can be expelled from the stadiums.”
“It is unthinkable to remain deaf to such hateful and homophobic chants in our stands,” she declared. “Whatever the rivalry and the issues, they must be fought tirelessly by the supporters, the players in the competition, the authorities and the public authorities. Yesterday, these songs spoiled the party at the Park. We must urgently eradicate it from our stadiums.
French clubs have been fined and the league’s disciplinary committee has also ordered the stands to be closed for similar cases in recent years. Additionally, French law provides for up to a year’s imprisonment and a fine of 45,000 euros ($47,600) when anti-gay slurs are uttered in public.
PSG said in a statement that it condemned all forms of discrimination and “intends to further strengthen its prevention work in the fight against homophobia.” The French champion added that a meeting with all his partners on the subject will take place in the coming days.
Homophobic chants, often heard during French league matches, have long been tolerated by many club officials, and football authorities have struggled to find appropriate ways to address the problem.
Following a match at the Parc des Princes four years ago between PSG and Marseille during which some local supporters uttered homophobic insults, the French League launched an action plan allowing spectators to report sexist, homophobic incidents or racists that they witness. However, the abuses did not stop.
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