PSG-OM: Paris Saint-Germain in turn condemns the banners of its ultras

A year and a half later, football has not advanced much.

After the controversy raised by homophobic chants in the stands, during a clasico at the Parc des Princes, PSG supporters have once again aroused the indignation of the general public, the political class, and even their own club.

Saturday evening and Sunday, September 13, the Ultras Paris Collective (CUP) posted on Twitter photos of banners deemed sexist and homophobic, deployed in several places in Paris.

The club, itself, dissociates itself: “We strongly disapprove of the messages written on the banners before the match.

We recall, as we also do when we are victims of it, that we condemn any vexatious speech and any form of discrimination.

All this is absolutely contrary to the values ​​of our club and the Parisian public as a whole.

"

On one of these banners, deployed on the Bir-Hakeim bridge near the Eiffel Tower, we could read: “PSG-OM: 9 years of organized gang sodomy”.

The other attacked Marseille player Dimitri Payet, who had chambered Paris after his Champions League final lost against Bayern Munich (0-1), and his wife Ludivine, reduced to "one thing".

Other messages were deployed in the capital: two very positive to the address of Thiago Silva and Cavani, in front of the Invalides, one in front of the Moulin Rouge and one in front of the Saudi Arabian embassy.

The latter two in offensive and sexist terms.

PSG had authorized the ultras to deploy a small part of their production in the Auteuil bend which they did not occupy during the coronavirus crisis: "You have honored our colors, soil theirs".

Roxana Maracineanu "completely shocked"

In the morning, Monday September 14, the Deputy Minister in charge of Sports, Roxana Maracineanu expressed her indignation: “I was completely shocked to see that outside.

I have always said that, in a stadium, there could not be things that are not acceptable outside and there, today, it is outside the stadium that the supporters deploy the banners. .

I find that shameful, I am outraged by this kind of behavior ”.

"We must be very clear on the fact that this type of behavior, on the ground or in the forum, must be condemned", launched, at his side, the Minister of Education, Youth and Sports, Jean- Michel Blanquer.

The Rouge Direct collective, which fights against homophobia in football, has also pointed out “an unacceptable homophobic insult”.

Shortly after her appointment, Roxana Maracineanu went on a campaign against homophobic insults in stadiums, sparking hostile reactions from the ultra milieu.

After the temporary stoppage of several meetings in the summer of 2019, and despite several actions by the LFP, the situation has returned almost to the same in French stadiums.

Overflows also on the ground

When contacted, the CUP did not provide any response to our requests.

Ultras have regularly defended what they consider to be a folklore which seems anachronistic once out of their world, as one actor in this field explains: “The ultra world is a subculture where this kind of banners and chambers who do not fly high are traded between rivals.

With social media and political correctness, it becomes much more visible and takes on proportions that it would never have taken before.

It doesn't work anymore.

The ultras refuse to sanitize themselves and they take shitstorms.

One thing is certain, the CUP knew full well that his messages would not go unnoticed.

On its Twitter account, the group nevertheless highlights messages from female members and its actions of solidarity.

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The link between these two facets of their supporterism seems fragile, like that which the Minister for Sports makes between the banners and the excesses on the ground: "What happened outside was also of nature, I" I have the impression, to heat the spirits on the grounds, we saw it yesterday with a distribution of boxes that we have never seen in such a match ”.

It now remains to know the consequences of these incidents, since Roxana Maracineanu concludes: “We are fighting […] so that sport can take hold in France.

If it's for him to resume like that, frankly… ”