There was a dark atmosphere in the Parc des Princes as the match between Paris Saint Germain and Lyon had to be stopped briefly by the referee due to some PSG fans chanting homophobic slurs during the match. The match was briefly stopped but then resumed again with Paris Saint Germain going onto win the match 3-1 and get a 7-point lead at the top of the Ligue 1 table.
A French league soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Lyon was briefly interrupted Sunday because of homophobic chanting by PSG fans.
Referee Benoît Bastien stopped play in the 53rd minute at the Parc des Princes with host PSG leading 2-1 after the chants were heard.
PSG captain Achraf Hakimi approached fans in the Auteuil stand behind one of the goals to ask them to stop. A message reminding fans that discriminatory chants are forbidden was then displayed on the stadium’s giant screens.
“The match could be stopped or even lost for the club,” the message read.
Play eventually resumed after a few minutes.
The chants in Paris were just the latest in a long series of similar incidents as French soccer authorities struggle to tackle the issue.
France’s Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau suggested earlier this year that matches should be halted when fans chant homophobic slurs in stadiums.
Earlier this month, a French campaign group renewed calls for authorities to take action against homophobic chanting by soccer fans, saying Marseille supporters belted out anti-gay slurs “with complete impunity” during a home game against Monaco.
Homophobic insults often heard at Ligue 1 matches have been tolerated for a long time by club officials, and soccer authorities have struggled to find appropriate ways of tackling the issue.
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