Critics on Thursday accused the French government of overreacting after immigrant youths booed the national anthem at a soccer match against Tunisia, as the country simmered with outrage over the incident.
“Indignation!” “An affair of state!” splashed newspaper front pages, while a poll in Le Parisien showed 80 percent of people were “shocked” to see the Paris Stade de France erupt into jeers at Tuesday’s game against Tunisia.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s government issued a stark warning to soccer fans on Wednesday, saying it would call off future games if the “Marseillaise” is jeered again, amid a chorus of outrage from the political establishment.
But critics dismissed the idea as unworkable and dangerous.
“At what point do you stop the match? After 1,000 jeers, 5,000, 10,000?” asked opposition Socialist deputy Elisabeth Guigou, while a spokesman for European soccer’s governing body UEFA, William Gaillard, called it unrealistic.
“If you stop a game after the national anthem is jeered, there is no doubt there will be violence in the stadium and across the area,” warned the pro-government le Figaro newspaper.
Three years after the riots in France’s poor city suburbs, the case revived concerns that many second and third-generation immigrants from north Africa still feel excluded from mainstream society.
Similar incidents marred French games against Algeria in 2001 and Morocco last year, when large parts of the crowd jeered the “Marseillaise.”
“Yeah, I whistled,” 15-year-old Eldeterr — the rapper’s stage name — was quoted as telling the left-wing newspaper Liberation. “And I’ll tell you why — I can’t love a country that doesn’t love us back.”
But France’s housing minister Fadela Amara, who is of north African origin, said the behavior cast “shame on their parents” and the 5 million-strong Muslim community, and demanded “exemplary” punishment.
“Enough talking about social malaise and the problems with integration. We have to stop finding excuses for them,” she told Le Parisien.
Officials have opened a judicial inquiry for “outrage” against the national anthem or flag — in theory an offense punishable by a hefty fine and up to six months in jail under a 2003 law that has never been applied.
Liberation said the “overblown indignation of certain ministers ... borders on the ridiculous.”
Malek Boutih, a senior Socialist official and former head of SOS Racism, also accused politicians of “overplaying” their outrage.
“It’s true some symbols of the republic are not too popular in the suburbs. But politicians would make better use of their intelligence by focusing on the economic crisis instead of this marginal case,” Boutih said.
When France won the 1998 World Cup, the immigrant suburbs poured onto the Champs Elysees to celebrate, cheering and wrapped in the national flag, he pointed out.
Meanwhile critics poured scorn on Junior Sports Minister Bernard Laporte for suggesting France should no longer play north African teams at home.
“Absurd, ridiculous,” said Guigou, who urged the government to “keep things in proportion.”
Juventus on Sunday stopped Inter from replacing SSC Napoli at the top of Serie A by beating their fierce rivals 1-0 and moving into the UEFA Champions League positions. Francisco Conceicao made sure that Napoli would stay two points ahead of reigning champions Inter by classily tucking home the winning goal 16 minutes before the end of an entertaining contest in Turin. Portugal attacker Conceicao netted his fourth goal of the season in all competitions after brilliant work from Randal Kolo Muani to give Juve a third straight league win. Juve are in fourth place on 46 points, ahead on goal-difference from SS
The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) is considering reducing its pitch clock by two seconds to help players better adjust to the rules applied at the World Baseball Classic (WBC). The proposal aims to shorten the pitch timer from 25 seconds to 23 seconds with the bases empty, and from 20 seconds to 18 seconds with runners on base. Currently, the WBC mandates that pitchers deliver a pitch every 18 seconds with the bases empty and 15 seconds with runners on base. The issue was raised during a pre-season CPBL managers’ meeting on Tuesday by Rakuten Monkeys bench and batting
‘SETTING THE TONE’: Donovan Mitchell said that their determination to dominate had nothing to do with past results, but was about a potential post-season clash The Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday boosted their NBA-best record with a 142-105 romp past the New York Knicks, tightening their grip on the Eastern Conference lead with an all-around dominant display. Donovan Mitchell scored 27 points to lead six Cavs players to score in double figures, connecting on five of seven three-pointers as Cleveland drilled 19 from beyond the arc. “I think the biggest thing was just try to set the tone early,” Mitchell said, adding that the determination to dominate had nothing to do with the Knicks’ first-round playoff win over the Cavs two seasons ago and everything to do with
BELGIANS ADVANCE: Club Brugge gave Atalanta a lesson in efficiency, as Gian Piero Gasperini’s team had 29 efforts at goal, compared with seven from the visitors Seldom has a player’s sending off had such an influence on a game. AC Milan was to left rue Theo Hernandez’s second yellow card — for diving — as Feyenoord advanced to the UEFA Champions League last 16 at the former European champion’s expense with a 1-1 draw in the second leg of their playoff on Tuesday, giving the Dutch team a 2-1 win on aggregate. Bayern Munich, Club Brugge and Benfica also won their playoffs, eliminating Celtic, UEFA Europa League winner Atalanta BC and French team AS Monaco respectively. “In soccer everything changes in a second,” said Milan forward
RSS