Skip to main content

Marseille win at Nice as homophobic chants cause stoppage

Marseille won their first match under new coach Andre Villas-Boas on Wednesday thanks to a 2-1 derby win at Nice in a match that was suspended in the first half following homophobic abuse from the home side’s hardcore supporters.

Dimitri Payet moved his side up to 13th on four points with a spot-kick with 17 minutes remaining after Nice midfielder Wylan Cyprien had levelled Dario Benedetto’s first Marseille goal with his own penalty.

The France international’s strike also ended Nice’s brief perfect start in the new season’s third round of matches, but the clash was dominated by the over 10-minute suspension ordered by match officials as part of a crackdown on offensive chanting from French football authorities.

Players from both teams were escorted from the pitch in the 28th minute of the contest following repeated appeals to Nice fans to stop chants of “Marseille are a bunch of queers” and “Go fuck yourself, Ligue 1”.

Fans also unfurled homophobic banners including one which called Marseille an “LGBT club”.

The second chant, sparked by the French league’s attempt to stamp out homophobic chants from the stands, continued as the players returned down the tunnel, where they waited for the still-goalless match to recommence.

Villas-Boas said referee Clement Turpin “did the right thing in stopping the match” adding that the abuse was “above all a societal problem”, while Nice coach Patrick Vieira said that he was “absolutely right to interrupt” proceedings.

French equalities minister Marlene Schiappa also congratulated on Twitter Turpin’s “respect for football”, and blasted “a homophobic banner (which) dirtied the stands”.

However, goalscorer Cyprien bemoaned Turpin’s decision, saying that “we can’t stop every match each time some idiot does something, otherwise we will never play”.

“I am against all discrimination, be it against gays or racist abuse,” he continued to Canal+.

“But we can’t stop matches as soon as there are insults that have nothing to do with the gay community.”

- Crackdown on abuse -

Instructions were sent to referees before the start of the season to stop matches if homophobic songs could be heard, and the Ligue 2 game on August 16 between Nancy and Le Mans was halted for a few minutes – a first in France.

That match only resumed after Nancy players pleaded with their fans to stop, but the club was still hit late on Wednesday with a one-game closure for one stand by the French league.

The league has mooted the idea of introducing a list of banned words in football stadiums in an attempt to combat homophobia and bad language.

On Sunday, a referee threatened to stop Monaco’s 2-2 home draw with Nimes after the away fans insulted the league organisers with offensive language.

The controversy comes just two days after Ineos announced their purchase of Nice, who were aiming to maintain their perfect start against fellow south coast side Marseille, yet to win under new coach Villas-Boas.

Bob Ratcliffe, the brother of billionaire Jim Ratcliffe who owns petrochemical giant Ineos, looked on embarrassed from the stands as his team were forced off the field due to their fans’ behaviour.

Earlier, Nigerian starlet Victor Osimhen shot a brace that took him to the top of the Ligue 1 scoring charts as Lille cruised to a simple 3-0 win over Saint-Etienne.

The 20-year-old fired in the hosts’ opener shortly before the break and sealed the points with a fine turn-and-strike 15 minutes from the end, taking his tally to four goals from the season’s opening three matches and moving Lille into fourth.

Jonathan Bamba had added the second from the spot six minutes earlier after being upended by Mathieu Debuchy.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Kenyan Law Court dismisses case of man seeking compensation after his wife eloped with another man from hospital

  A lawsuit filed by a man seeking to be compensated by St Mary's Mission Hospital in Kenya for allowing his wife to leave the hospital with another man after giving birth, has been struck out by a law court.    The appellant had sued the St. Mary's Mission hospital at Kakamega law courts in 2020 seeking general damages from the facility on grounds that the hospital had discharged his wife and allowed her to leave with another man. After delivering and at the time of discharge, the wife of the appellant claimed he was the baby's father.   The court of appeal judges Patrick Kiage, Mumbi Ngugi and Francis Tuiyott sitting at the Kisumu Court of Appeal, empathized with the man, but disagreed that he (the appellant) be compensated by the hospital for not detaining his wife.  They upheld the lower court's judgement which added that there's no remedy that lies in the law for such grievances.   Kiage said;   "I agree that if a man takes the woman he loves to t...
Post a Comment
Read more

CJN Tanko unveils panel to hear Atiku’s appeal against Buhari

The Chief Justice of Nigeria, Ibrahim Tanko Mohammed is presiding over the 7-man panel that will hear the appeals filed by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, challenging the victory of President Muhammadu Buhari at the February 23 poll. Other members of the panel are Bode Rhodes-Vivour, Amiru Sanusi, Uwani Abaji, Ejembi Eko, John Inyang Okoro and Olukayode Ariwoola. Atiku and his party are challenging the September 11 judgment of the Justice Mohammed Garba-led Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal which affirmed President Buhari’s victory at the polls. The appeals hearing has generated some controversies especially due to the silence of the Supreme Court on the justices that would constitute the panel, with the Coalition of United Progressives Party (CUPP) demanding the use of seniority in selecting them. A senior member of Atiku’s legal team, Chief Chris Uche (SAN), told reporters that they considered it strange that as at ...
Post a Comment
Read more

FRSC reinforces directive on use of google maps while driving

The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has clarified its position on the use of Google Maps, The FCT Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Ayuba Gora was quoted saying that driving with the aid of Google map using mobile phones is a serious traffic offence. Gora said this at the inauguration of the 2019 Ember Months Campaign by Lugbe Unit Command of the FRSC in Abuja yesterday. But, FRSC Spokesman Bisi Kazeem making reference to Gora’s comments said the Sector Commander was quoted out of context and his statement outrightly misrepresented. Kazeem said the FRSC as a technology-driven organisation is not and has never stood against the use of Google Maps by Motorists. The statement read: “To state the obvious, we have always enlightened the public on the position of the law on the use of phone while driving. “The statement he made during the flag off buttresses the position of the Corps, which is that any driver who intends to deploy the use of Google Map...
Post a Comment
Read more