PSG and Monaco meet in Doha, against a backdrop of discontent from their supporters

Barely three weeks after the last match between Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and AS Monaco (ASM), as part of the 16^e day of Ligue 1 (4-2 victory for PSG in the Principality), the two clubs meet again this Sunday January 5 at 5:30 p.m., in Doha, this time for the Champions Trophy.

This meeting, generally organized in the heart of summer, sees the champion team of Ligue 1 and the winner of the Coupe de France clash. PSG having won these two titles in 2024, the Parisians are opposed to ASM, second in the French championship at the end of the last season. After much procrastination, the match was relocated to Qatar, 5,000 kilometers from France, and falls in the middle of a Ligue 1 day, which resumed its rights this weekend after a truce during the period of holidays.

This year's situation is reminiscent of that of the previous edition, which irritated many French supporters. The organization of this match in Qatar only aggravated their discontent. “This territorial tearing makes no sense. This is the ultimate stage of the commodification of Football”exasperates Pierre Barthélémy, lawyer for the National Association of Supporters (ANS), the main representative body of French football fans.

“A masquerade”

Ulcerated by the relocation of the event, the Ultras Monaco 1994 collective denounced “a masquerade” from November 2024 in a press release published on X. Contacted, the Principality club also affirmed that none of its supporters would go to the match. The same goes for the Collectif Ultras Paris, which, according to information from RMC Sport, does not support the holding of this competition abroad either.

The Parisians, twelve times winners of the Champions Trophy, will still be able to count on a few supporters. The club has in fact offered its 365 most frequent subscribers a ticket including plane travel, night at the hotel and activities in the Qatari capital for only 100 euros. A tempting offer that sold out in just a few hours. PSG, however, clarified that the costs had been covered by the club, via an agency specializing in the transport of supporters, and not via its sponsors.

The arrival of these rare French supporters should not change the support of the players from the capital, who enjoy great popularity with Qatari football fans. Stadium 974 in Doha, which is hosting the match, has a capacity of 44,000 seats, of which 35,000 had been sold as of January 2, according to The Team.

“For us, it’s like going home”

The Parisian club enjoys a particular proximity with the emirate. It has been owned by the Qatar Sports Investment (QSI) fund since 2011 and most of its main sponsors (Qatar Airways, Visit Qatar, QNB, BeIN Sports) are Qatari. Three official PSG stores are present in the country and the first team usually carries out its winter preparation courses in Doha.

Thursday January 2, during a surprising press conference organized on board the club plane (a Boeing 777 from Qatar Airways) leaving for Doha, coach Luis Enrique joked about the situation. “For us, it’s like going home,” he told journalists who were on videoconference from land.

For Pierre Barthélémy, this relocation to Doha nevertheless poses a problem of equity. “It’s been two years in a row that this trophy has benefited PSG. Last year, the match took place at the Parc des Princes [Paris avait battu Toulouse 2-0]. This year, the meeting will be played at the club's first partner. » The LFP claims that Doha was the easiest solution for both clubs and the organizers.

A match initially planned in China

The relocation of the Champions Trophy abroad is not new. China had hosted several editions (2014, 2018 and 2019), as had Israel, in 2021 and 2022. Last year, the meeting was to be held in Bangkok (Thailand), before the Professional Football League (LFP) does not postpone its choice on the Parc des Princes.

This year again, the organization of the meeting turned into a headache: the match was initially scheduled to be held on August 8, 2024, in Beijing, in order to celebrate the sixtieth anniversary of diplomatic relations between France and China. But the operation could not succeed, the LFP never having received final authorizations from the Chinese authorities, according to The Team. The LFP then considered playing the match in Monaco, on August 28… the day of the opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games. As PSG did not wish to change the schedule of the meeting, the competition was once again postponed. And it was only on November 18 that the match in Doha was made official.

“It has become a commercial trophybelieves Pierre Barthélémy, but which is not specific to France. Other European competitions export their tournaments. » This is particularly the case of the Italian Super Cup and its Spanish equivalent, the last editions of which took place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.