The ministerial letter surprised many within the Federation, which on Thursday afternoon reserved the possibility of honoring or not the summons of Mr. Nasrou.
The president of the French Football Federation Philippe Diallo and the general director of PSG Victoriano Melero are summoned to the Ministry of the Interior on Friday, two days after the deployment at the Parc des Princes of a banner in support of Palestine by supporters of the Parisian club.
“They will be received at 10 a.m. by Othman Nasrou”, Secretary of State for Citizenship and the Fight against Discrimination, his office announced.
“UEFA's disciplinary regulations prohibit the broadcasting of political messages of a provocative nature in stadiums,” Mr. Nasrou wrote in a letter, consulted by AFP and addressed to the FFF and PSG.
The ministerial letter surprised many within the Federation, which on Thursday afternoon reserved the possibility of honoring or not the summons of Mr. Nasrou.
A source close to the body reminded AFP that the Champions League match at the Parc des Princes fell under the jurisdiction of UEFA, not that of the FFF.
“Its installation cannot have escaped the vigilance of the club”
“Given the size (of the banner, editor’s note), its installation cannot have escaped the club’s vigilance,” assured the Secretary of State. For its part, the club claimed to have had no “awareness of the plan to display such a message”, and said it was “firmly opposed to any message of a political nature in its stadium”.
UEFA that it would not initiate any proceedings against PSG, considering that “the banner displayed could not be considered provocative or insulting in this specific case”.
Before Paris SG-Atlético Madrid, which ended in a 2-1 defeat for the Parisians, the Collectif ultras Paris (CUP) held a tifo with the message “Free Palestine”, around the red and blue colors of PSG, with a bloody Palestinian flag, the flag of Lebanon, Jerusalem, tanks or even a person wearing a keffiyeh.
“War on the ground but peace in the world”
The immense canvas bearing drawings and covering the entire Auteuil stand topped a banner “War on the ground but peace in the world”.
Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau condemned Thursday on X the deployment of the banner, asking “PSG to explain itself and the clubs to ensure that politics does not damage sport, which must always remain a source of unity”.
This summons comes a week before the Nations League match between France and Israel, next Thursday at the Stade de France, a meeting played in very tight security conditions.
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