French league condemns racist banners, homophobic chanting by Nice supporters during Marseille match

Mayor of Marseille Benoit Payan looks on as French President Emmanuel Macron visits the Benza district in Marseille, southeastern France, Wednesday June 28, 2023. (Ludovic Marin, Pool via AP) (AP)

MARSEILLE — The French soccer league has condemned homophobic and sexist chanting by fans during a match between Nice and Marseille over the weekend, as well as the racist banners displayed by the local fans.

The league said Monday that the latest in a long series of similar incidents to mar French soccer will be discussed by its disciplinary committee on Wednesday.

Marseille mayor Benoit Payan had asked the league to take action after posting a photo on social media of one banner held up by a group of hardcore Nice fans. It read: “The sun is setting on the city of Nice... let the rat hunt begin.”

The word “rat” can be used in a racist and derogatory way in the French language and the banner was widely seen as referencing Marseille’s large Arab minority.

“Racist remarks cannot be tolerated in a stadium. I’m asking the LFP not to let this happen,” Payan wrote on X, adding to his message a picture of the banner.

According to French media reports, another banner targeted former Nice player Neal Maupay, who played for the club for eight years before joining Marseille. The match was also interrupted briefly in the first half when Nice supporters were asked to stop their homophobic chanting.

Nice beat second-placed Marseille 2-0 to move up to fourth place in the French league standings.

Nice is owned by Manchester United part-owner Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos company, which completed a takeover of the French club in 2019.

Homophobic insults are often heard at Ligue 1 matches and have been tolerated for a long time by club officials, with soccer authorities struggling to find appropriate ways of tackling the issue.

Over the years, French clubs have been sanctioned with fines, and the league’s disciplinary commission also ordered the closure of stands for similar cases. Also, French law provides for a jail term of up to one year and a fine of 45,000 euros (US$47,600) for anti-gay insults that are made in public.

“To support this strategy, the professional soccer league is calling for the identification and arrest of individuals who commit discriminatory acts in stadiums,” the league said Monday. “Racist, sexist and homophobic supporters have no place in a soccer stadium.”

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The Associated Press