the president of the FFF and the general director of PSG summoned Friday to Beauvau – Libération

The president of the French Football Federation, Philippe Diallo, and the general director of PSG, Victoriano Melero, are summoned to the Ministry of the Interior on Friday, two days after the deployment at the Parc des Princes of a banner in support of Palestine by supporters of the Parisian club. “They will be received at 10 a.m. by Othman Nasrou,” Secretary of State for Citizenship and the Fight against Discrimination, his office announced this Thursday, November 7. “UEFA disciplinary regulations prohibit the broadcasting of political messages of a provocative nature in stadiums,” writes Othman Nasrou in a letter addressed to the FFF and PSG.

“Given the size (of the banner, editor’s note), its installation cannot have escaped the vigilance of the club,” adds the Secretary of State. UEFA, for its part, decided that it would not initiate any proceedings against PSG, considering that “the banner displayed could not be considered provocative or insulting in this specific case”.

“War on the ground but peace in the world”

Before Paris SG-Atlético Madrid, which ended in a 1-2 defeat for the Parisians on Wednesday evening, the Collectif ultras Paris (CUP) held a tifo with the message «Free Palestine», around the red and blue colors of PSG, with a bloody Palestinian flag, the flag of Lebanon, a view of Jerusalem, tanks or even a person wearing a keffiyeh.

The CUP reacted this Thursday evening on its social networks: “In no case was this tifo intended to convey a message of hatred, on the contrary, the message which accompanied it is explicit and is a call for peace between peoples.” The immense canvas bearing drawings and covering the entire Auteuil stand topped a banner “War on the ground but peace in the world”. The Minister of the Interior Bruno Retailleau condemned the deployment of the banner on Thursday, asking “up to PSG to explain themselves and to clubs to ensure that politics does not damage sport, which must always remain a catalyst for unity”.

Updated: at 6:10 p.m. with the CUP press release.