PSG under investigation by French government after fans fly ‘Free Palestine’ tifo
07 November 2024 10:46am GMT
Paris St-Germain could face punishment after their fans held up a ‘Free Palestine’ banner spanning almost an entire stand before their Champions League defeat by Atlético Madrid.
Bruno Retailleau, the French interior minister, said he would not rule out seeking sanctions against the Qatar-owned club over the giant ‘tifo’, or large banner, in which the ‘i’ of Palestine was shaped like a map of Israel in the colours of a Palestinian scarf called a keffiyeh.
Any image of the map of Israel overlaid with Palestinian imagery is said by many Israelis to equate to calling for the destruction of their homeland.
The banner also featured a torn and blood-spattered Palestinian flag and a child wearing a shirt with imagery from the flag of Lebanon, where Israel has been fighting the Hezbollah terrorist group.
Wednesday night’s demonstration on the Auteuil Kop in the Parc de Princes took place eight days before France play Israel in Paris in the Nations League and was branded “unacceptable” by Retailleau.
Asked if he would seek sanctions against PSG, he told Sud Radio: “I am not ruling out anything. I will demand explanations from PSG.”
The club said they had been unaware “of any plans to display such a message”, adding in a statement: “Paris St-Germain recalls that the Parc des Princes is – and must remain – a place of communion around a common passion for soccer and firmly opposes any message of a political nature in its stadium.”
Beneath the giant banner was a smaller tifo that read: “War on the pitch, but peace in the world.”
Fans also displayed another message during the match that read: “Does a child’s life in Gaza mean less than another?”
Last year, Celtic were fined €17,500 (£14,500) by Uefa after their fans waved Palestinian flags during a Champions League game.
The October 7, 2023, terrorist attacks on Israel by Hamas – which governs the neighbouring Gaza Strip – prompted a counter-offensive said to have killed more than 43,000 Palestinians and wounded more than 100,000.
France play Israel at the 80,000-capacity Stade de France next Thursday, with fans allowed to attend the match.
Concerns have been raised about security surrounding the event in a country that has both the largest Jewish and Muslim communities in Europe.
Last month, Paris police officials said the game would “of course be open to the public”.
That was after Italy played Israel in Udine but Belgium moved their home game against the same opponents to Debrecen, Hungary.
Their federation said: “In Belgium, no local administration deemed it possible to organise the Red Devils’ home match against Israel.”