This Monday, RMC Sport explained the continuation of the anger in the stands of Ligue 1 and Ligue 2. It is growing day by day. After a weekend marked by banners in several professional championship venues, the National Association of Supporters (ANS) sent a letter to the new Minister of Sports, Gil Avérous. The anger does not subside.
The National Association of Supporters sent a letter this Monday evening to the new Minister of Sports, Gil Avérous. From the start of this letter, the ANS attacks the successor of Amélie Oudéa-Castéra. “Since taking office, you have never sought to interact directly with our association and have never gotten involved in the work of the national supporter body. However, at the same time, you have increased the number of speeches political and media 'on the backs' of football and its supporters”, tackles the ANS.
>>> Why the anger continues in the stands of Ligue 1 and Ligue 2
The photo with Vincent Labrune at the ministry does not pass
In these six pages, of which RMC Sport has taken note, the Association points out the “contempt” of all “the work of the national supporterism body and its members on the subject, you have offered insulting chants a counterproductive national sounding board”.
And to continue: “Worse, while the national body of supporterism was working on the subject, in the premises of the ministry, you preferred to stay in your office to welcome, in front of the photographers and with a smile, the president of the LFP then even as the Senate published a shocking report on the governance of the LFP and the Prosecutor's Office initiated criminal proceedings against the LFP and its president a few days before searching the offices and home of the president of the LFP.
In recent months, under the leadership of the former Minister of Sports, dialogue was rather regular between the ANS, the various stakeholders and the ministry. This is no longer the case. The meeting last Friday between the different authorities remains in the throat of the leaders of the National Association of Supporters. “An extraordinary meeting, extremely publicized and bringing together the experts of the police, the gendarmerie, the government and the sporting authorities was organized with great fanfare. This staging betrays three hypotheses, none of which is satisfactory,” adds the mail.
With three hypotheses explained as: “Either it was a matter of exploiting the media coverage of football to portray the image of an authoritarian government”; “either it was a question of giving pledges to police unions whose influence in the Ministry of the Interior is known and which we understand are rightly annoyed to see so many police forces mobilized the weekend for football matches”; “either it is in reality quite simply a total ignorance of the issue on the part of the government.”
“Serious and illegal threats against the rule of law”
The ANS explains that during this meeting “serious and illegal threats against the rule of law were made”. And to continue: “The prefectural authorities were therefore asked to take more administrative bans on stadiums to repress individual behavior.” The ANS then attacks the communication of the Minister of Sports. “You decide in your press release that a tifo of a political nature […] has no place in a sports arena. This statement ignores the fundamental principles of our rule of law.” Before returning to the legend of the tifo deployed by the CUP, during the PSG-Atlético Champions League match.
“We do not dare to believe that the objective would be to prohibit supporters from expressing a critical view on the mercantile practices of Bein Sports, on the exploitation of French football by a foreign state or on the arrival of funds from investments and multi-ownership in French football,” the document continues. And continued: “In the ten years that we have been working with ministries and sports authorities, we have never been confronted with such an exploitation of football and its stands for the purposes of political communication. This doctrine is directly opposed to the dialogue which has presided over the matter for ten years and weakens a relationship of trust built through work and over time with ministerial services.”
“We ask you to urgently place prior dialogue and the general interest before hasty, hollow and martial speeches,” insists the ANS. Before concluding: “By this gracious appeal, we ask you to withdraw, without delay, your press release of November 8, 2024. (…) Failing this, we will ask our lawyer to submit the legality of this censorship of the freedom of expression of supporters under the control of the administrative judge”.
