The LFP announced this Wednesday the partial closure of the Auteuil stand for a match after homophobic chants sung by the Ultra Paris Collective during the match against Strasbourg.
The Auteuil stand at the Parc des Princes will be partially closed for a match to sanction homophobic chants sung by Parisian supporters against Olympique de Marseille during the PSG-Strasbourg match, the LFP announced on Wednesday. The sanction takes effect from November 5, and the Auteuil stand will therefore be fully open for the reception of Lens on Saturday (5:00 p.m.) during the 10th day. The League’s disciplinary committee sanctioned PSG last year for similar acts by completely closing the stand for one final match and one suspended match.
On October 19, during the Strasbourg reception for the 8th day (4-2), the Collectif Ultras Paris (CUP) sang a homophobic song targeting the Marseillais for around ten minutes, eight days before «clasico». These slogans were taken up by a large part of the Parc des Princes, and the stadium announcer intervened twice to stop them, in vain. Contacted Wednesday evening by AFP, the CUP and PSG did not react immediately.
Banning homophobia from stadiums
Five days after the match, the Minister of the Interior, Bruno Retailleau, announced that “two leaders” of the song had been “identified”. But they have not been arrested to date. An investigation was entrusted to the Personal Crime Repression Brigade (BRDP). Following these chants, PSG “reaffirmed its firm commitment against all forms of discrimination, including homophobia”indicated the club to AFP, adding to take “all necessary measures, before and during matches, to ensure that the Parc des Princes remains an inclusive place for all”.
Last week, a meeting devoted to this issue was held at the Ministry of the Interior with the French football authorities (the FFF and the LFP) and the Minister of Sports, Gil Avérous. The latter recalled that in the event of homophobic songs, a meeting could be stopped. This possibility appears in a Fifa circular, dating from the 2019-20 season. But this declaration was criticized by Bruno Retailleau, who favored a “temporary interruption”. “If there are homophobic chants, he said, the sports movement must take its responsibilities, there must be a temporary interruption. Stopping matches is very complicated, it’s not the right solution.”
