A short suspension of the match, a message from the announcer… but above all a deep feeling of incomprehension. A look back at the consequences of the stopping of the PSG-OL match for “insulting chants” with Hermann Ebongue, in charge of the discrimination prevention system at the Parc des Princes.
In the 52nd minute of play, a chant insulting the Lyonnais fell from the Parisian stands. Following an injunction from the match delegate, referee Benoît Bastien decided to suspend the match for a few moments and a message was passed by the announcer, then displayed on the stadium’s large screens: “Insulting chants are prohibited. The match could be stopped, or even lost for the club. »
We are talking about “insulting songs”, not “discriminatory songs”. To return to the incident and shed light on it, Pia Clemens contacted Hermann Ebongue. President of the Sportitude association and vice-president of SOS Racisme, he is also in charge of the discrimination prevention system at the Parc des Princes. He therefore attends all matches and works closely with the club management. And he too, like many Parisian supporters, was challenged by the facts.
“I was surprised. There are so many totally incongruous things… and I was even more surprised by the attitude of the match delegate, because deep down, I’m afraid that we’ll end up with situations that could be counterproductive. Finally, we no longer find ourselves there. An “insulting” song… What is an insulting song? What is the limit, the frame, the perimeter, the surface? Do we need a list of approved words? Even I, who am a fervent defender of these values, admit that I am lost. And I’m not the only one. »
Hermann Ebongue notably highlighted several problems in the situation last night:
– The way in which certain journalists highlighted a situation that was not very serious
– The vagueness surrounding this type of case, with rules that are not clear to anyone
– And, and this is undoubtedly the main problem, an application of the rules with variable geometry, according to the assessment of the delegate or the referee present, and according to… the club concerned.
A situation which arouses a real feeling of injustice among PSG supporters, who have the impression that nothing is happening to them while the same acts committed in other stadiums go completely unnoticed. So, can we still say bad words at the Parc des Princes?
“The question is asked. I wonder about it, too. Can we still room? I have the impression that at the Parc des Princes, whatever happens, there is always a rather critical look, of pointing fingers, while the club makes a lot, a lot of effort, puts a lot of effort into means so that the show is nice, beautiful, and that everyone can be found there whatever their singularities. I ask myself the question as you ask yourself. And I don’t have an answer. »
Hermann Ebongue also estimated that within the Parisian club, the feeling of “double standards” felt by the supporters was widely shared:
“Yes, this feeling of injustice is felt by everyone. Everyone. Including us, the associations. Because the work we do, everything we can capitalize as earnings, at some point certain things can wipe them out. And the club shares this feeling. I think that the club is quite bruised by the fact that it has the feeling that despite all the efforts, the work, the investments upstream… to end up with reproaches, believe me, I think that from a point of view From a human point of view, it’s already unbearable. »
