Marina Ferrari has placed the anti-discrimination protocol at the centre of Sunday night’s Classique, with Marseille’s home match against Paris Saint-Germain carrying the prospect of an interruption if homophobic chanting is heard.
The move
France’s Minister for Sports, Youth and Community Life wrote to Professional Football League president Vincent Labrune at the beginning of September, urging the full enforcement of the FIFA procedure covering discriminatory conduct in stadiums.
Ferrari’s intervention followed a meeting with Rouge Direct, the collective that raises alerts over homophobia in football and sport. The group highlighted what it described as recurring homophobic chants among Marseille supporters, raising concern ahead of OM’s Ligue 1 meeting with PSG.
The fixture closes the fifth round of the Ligue 1 season on Sunday evening. Ferrari has made clear that the match must be stopped should such chants occur in the stands.
The French season around it
The instruction reflects the protocol already used in Ligue 1 this weekend. Lyon’s 4-0 victory over Rennes on Saturday was halted after homophobic chanting was heard.
With Marseille and Paris meeting in one of French football’s most charged occasions, the authorities will expect the same response if there is a similar incident at the Stade Vélodrome. Ferrari, whose ministry oversees the LFP, has requested that the competition’s disciplinary and match-day procedures be applied without exception.
