Qualified for the D1 Elite final against the Black Panthers of Thonon-les-bains, the American Football team of La Courneuve recently expressed itself in a press release posted on Instagram. By taking a strong position, the Flash explain that they have considered boycotting the final that will be held in Perpignan this Saturday, June 29 at 8 p.m. in Gilbert-Brutus, because of the strong presence of the National Rally in the department and the town of Perpignan.
Perpignan and its Gilbert-Brutus stadium will be the hosts of the 28th Diamond Helmet. In this final of the French Elite American football championship, it is the Flash of La Courneuve who will face the Black Panthers of Thonon-les-Bains, Saturday at 8 p.m.
However, if Perpignan will be the host of the final, it is the owner of the house who disturbs the Flash of La Courneuve. Indeed, in a press release, the Ile-de-France club strongly criticizes the political force widely spread in the Pyrénées-Orientales and at the head of the commune of Perpignan. The players and leaders of the northern Parisian city took a stand in the current political context “Everywhere in France, as athletes and citizens, we must all feel concerned by the electoral, political and media events which can bring racism, discrimination and xenophobia from the RN to power”.
A call to vote
In addition to the strong criticism from the National Rally, the Flash of La Courneuve considered not making the trip to Perpignan as a sign of protest. “We, Le Flash, had considered not showing up for this American Football Elite Championship final on Saturday June 29 in Perpignan, a city run by the RN in a department also in the hands of RN elected officials”.
However, the players and managers of the Seine-Saint-Denis club have reconsidered their intentions and will play well in the D1 Elite final in Perpignan this Saturday against Thonon “It would have been an abandonment of the fight for our ideas and our values” they explain in the press release. “Also, we will be sportingly and gloriously present for this final, but we will nevertheless mark our firm and determined opposition to all local and national leaders advocating a sordid and nauseating ideology”.
Beyond the firmness with which the club contests the political situation, it is a civic message that it wanted to convey, recalling that “Victory or defeat, Le Flash will return to La Courneuve as soon as the match is over so he can vote on Sunday. Go vote!” In the context of an already very tense political situation, the final of the French American football championship also risks taking place in a particular context.
