“This typhus had no place in this stadium. » The Minister of the Interior, Bruno Retailleau, harshly criticized, on Thursday, November 7, the tifo of support for the Palestinians created by the fans of Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), before the Champions League match against Atlético de Madrid, in the Parc des Princes.
“I ask PSG to explain itself and the clubs to ensure that politics does not harm sport, which must always remain a catalyst for unity”wrote the tenant of Place Bauveau on his account X and shortly after added on Sud Radio: “I want to know more, to know how this tarp arrived, how it could have been deployed… I asked the police chief to tell me what had happened. We have agreed on several things, but I demand accountability. Solemnly. »
Mr. Retailleau indicated that no appointment had yet been made with the club. He also promised sanctions if PSG were not able to take strong action.
A few minutes before the start of the match, the members of the Collectif Ultras Paris (CUP), the largest group of PSG fans, showed this typho on which it was written “Free Palestine”while a sign, at the foot of the Auteuil stand, asked “war on the ground but peace in the world”. Other signs, for example, “ Is the life of one child in Gaza worth less than that of another? » – were deployed during the match by members of the CUP.
France-Israel at the Stade de France, on the 14th
The president of the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions in France, Yonathan Arfi, reacted on Wednesday evening: “Scandalous banner tonight in the Parc des Princes! A map where the State of Israel no longer exists. A masked Palestinian fighter. This is not a message of peace, but a call to hate. »
PSG did not know the content of the message contained in this typo, specifies a club source, who wishes to underline “That the Parc des Princes is – and must continue to be – a place of communion around a common passion for football. “PSG is firmly opposed to any message of a political nature in its stadium.”.
“These types of messages are also prohibited by League and UEFA regulations. [l’instance européenne du football]. If this happens again we will have to consider banning tifos for clubs that do not comply with the rules.the Interior Minister declared again on Thursday.
UEFA, which prohibits any political message in stadiums, could sanction PSG. The European body opened a disciplinary file against the capital club after a match against the Israeli club Maccabi Haifa, in October 2022, when members of the CUP displayed a banner “Gaza exists, Gaza resists, Palestine Free”. However, PSG was not sanctioned.
In October 2023, during the match against AC Milan, Palestinian flags were displayed in the Auteuil stand, as well as banners supporting the Palestinians, two weeks after the Israeli response to the 7 October attacks. UEFA later sanctioned PSG…, but for the use of smoke bombs in the stands.
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This matter occurs while the French soccer team faces the Hebrew State team on November 14, at the Stade de France, within the framework of the Nations League. The organization of this party promises to be very tense in terms of security, given the international context.
Belgium, for its part, had given up welcoming Israel in September; the meeting had been moved to Hungary. In October, Italy hosted its duel in Udine, in a small stadium, with the creation of a “red zone” forty-eight hours before the start of the match and a reduced number of spectators (12,000 tickets sold for a 25,000-seat venue). . Last week, Bruno Retailleau reiterated that the meeting would be held in Saint-Denis, but left the door open to a possible reduction in capacity and assured that a reinforced system would be put in place.
