She was quick to voice her reaction. The day after Paris Saint-Germain’s resounding victory over Olympique de Marseille at the Parc des Princes (4-0), Amélie Oudéa-Castéra cracked a long message on (ex-Twitter) to denounce the homophobic chants sung by certain Parisian supporters against their Marseille rivals.
“It is unthinkable to remain deaf to such hateful and homophobic chants in our stands. Regardless of the rivalry and the stakes, they must be fought relentlessly by the supporters, those involved in the competition, the authorities and the public authorities. Yesterday, these songs spoiled the party at the Park,” she declared. Thursday, on the sidelines of a visit to Arcom, the media regulatory authority, the minister even considered that the match should have been interrupted. A position reaffirmed this Saturday at the microphone of Europe 1 in The Legends Studio.
Return of the protocol
“There was no immediate reaction, as I would have liked to have happened, such as making the choice to stop the match,” she said. And to call for the protocol, allowing a game to be interrupted when such chants are heard, to be applied by the referees, who have the prerogative. “He was a few years ago. In 2018, 2019 and early 2020. We had matches that were stopped because the unacceptable was happening in the stands,” she recalls.
“Individual” and “collective” sanctions
Advocating zero tolerance in this area, Amélie Oudéa-Castéra also wants referees to be supported to detect problematic chants in the stands. “When a referee or x or y reason does not seem to hear this type of chant, observers in the stands must report these facts, if necessary,” she says. Before the application of “individual” sanctions, made possible, according to the minister, by the strengthening of the “legal arsenal” made available to the authorities.
“We have the capacity, when acts inciting hatred and discrimination are committed, for the people who are at the origin of them to be subject to a judicial ban from the stadium, under the control of the judge, but with firmness “. A repression, which must, she says, be accompanied by “collective sanctions”. More particularly “when there is an inaction which is that of clubs which do not take measures to stop these facts, which do not file a complaint, which do not consider it useful to have a frank and firm exchange with their supporters associations and who, through their complacency, allow these phenomena to fester.”
And to conclude by “calling everyone to responsibility”, while welcoming the fact that the Professional Football League (LFP) “has taken action and that there is a disciplinary procedure underway”.