French league condemns racist signs, homophobic chants by Nice supporters during match

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The French soccer league has condemned homophobic and sexist chanting by spectators during a match between Nice and visiting Marseille last weekend.

Racist banners displayed by Nice fans were also vilified, by the league (LFP).

The LFP said on Monday that the latest incident to mar French soccer will be discussed by its disciplinary committee on Wednesday.

Marseille mayor Benoît Payan asked the league to take action after posting a photo on social media of a banner held up by a group of hardcore Nice fans, reading: “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.

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.

Marseille, whose own supporters have been reprimanded in the past for belting out anti-gay slurs, said the banners were “unacceptable.”

“While (Marseille) has always promoted values of diversity, inclusion and tolerance, it wishes to reiterate its unwavering commitment to oppose any form of racism, which has no place in a stadium or in society,” the nine-time French champion said.

Nice beat second-placed Marseille 2-0 to move up to fourth place in Ligue 1.

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 LFP disciplinary commission haqs 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 ($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 on Monday. “Racist, sexist and homophobic supporters have no place in a soccer stadium.”

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