President of the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions of France (CRIF), Yonathan Arfi is considering legal action after the “Free Palestine” banner displayed Wednesday in the Champions League at the Parc des Princes by the Collectif Ultras Paris.
A controversial story. On Wednesday, ahead of the Champions League match between PSG and Atlético de Madrid, the Collectif Ultras Paris (CUP) displayed a banner of support for Palestine. The Representative Council of Jewish Institutions of France (CRIF) is considering legal action.
“We are exploring legal avenues and we are going to see what we are going to do,” declared Yonathan Arfi, the president of CRIF, in comments reported by L’Équipe. “But the most important thing is that this subject is in the public domain. I am calling for an independent and transparent investigation to find out how this was possible. There are several outstanding questions.”
UEFA will not sanction PSG
If the tifo wanted to launch an appeal for peace, the president of the CRIF rather sees in the message of the Ultras “a call for hatred against Israel with a soldier drawn with the face masked by a keffiyeh and the State of Israel covered of a keffiyeh as if to signify that he no longer existed.” UEFA for its part announced that there would be no sanction, judging that the message could not be considered “provocative” or “insulting”.
The Minister of the Interior Bruno Retailleau estimated that this message of support should not have been displayed and is considering sanctions in the event of a repeat offense. PSG indicated that it was “not aware of this tifo. “We cannot be satisfied with the press release,” pointed out Arfi.
Faced with the controversy, the Collectif Ultras Paris explained in a press release: “In no case was this tifo intended to convey a message of hatred, on the contrary, the message which accompanied it is explicit and is a call to peace between peoples.” The CUP also clarified that it had acted alone, without the help of the club.
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