A French campaign group has renewed calls for authorities to take action against homophobic chanting by soccer fans, saying Marseille supporters belted out anti-gay slurs “with complete impunity” during a home game against Monaco on Sunday.
The Rouge Direct group posted a footage on social networks showing Marseille supporters shouting threatening and insulting chants aimed at Monaco. The discriminatory chants at the Stade Velodrome are just the latest of in a long series of similar incidents as French soccer authorities struggle to tackle the issue.
The Marseille game was not stopped, even though France’s Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau suggested earlier this year that matches should be halted when fans chant homophobic slurs in stadiums.
The Rouge Direct group asked Marseille, the league and France's Interior ministry to shed light on the incident. It also urged broadcaster DAZN to remove the replay of the game from its platform.
Marseille won the game 2-1 thanks to a late penalty scored by Mason Greenwood. The result lifted Marseille over its southern rival into second place in the standings.
Homophobic insults often heard at Ligue 1 matches have been tolerated for a long time by club officials, and soccer authorities have struggled to find appropriate ways of tackling the issue.
Following a match at the Parc des Princes years ago between PSG and Marseille during which home fans used homophobic insults, the league launched an action plan allowing spectators to report sexist, homophobic or racist incidents they witness. The abuse has not stopped, though, even intensifying in recent months.
French clubs have been sanctioned with fines, and the league’s disciplinary commission also ordered the closure of stands for similar cases in recent years. Also, French law provides for up to one year imprisonment and a 45,000 euros ($47,600) fine when anti-gay insults are made in public.
Last season, some PSG players received a one-match suspended sentence by the league disciplinary committee for offensive chants aimed at Marseille after a home league match. Ousmane Dembélé, Achraf Hakimi, Randal Kolo Muani and Layvin Kurzawa were filmed using insults while celebrating at the end of a 4-0 win against Marseille. The four players issued apologies. That match was also marred by homophobic chanting by sections of PSG fans targeting Marseille players.
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