Racism afflicts top French side- Paris Saint German
Warming up on the sideline, a black player jogs toward fans at the Parc des Princes soccer stadium. As he gets closer, a barrage of monkey chants explodes -- ''OOOH! OOOH! OOOH!''-- and racist insults fill the air.
Many of the fans yelling insults are members of white hooligan gangs that prowl the stadium grounds on game day, looking for a rumble with black and Arab members of a multiethnic rival gang. Interviews with gang members and repeated visits to PSG games found that racist hooligans operate openly and with almost total impunity at the 43,000-seat stadium on the western outskirts of Paris.
Soccer, with its many black stars, should be a showcase of multiracial harmony -- especially in France, which draws heavily on talent from its former African colonies. Instead, brawling soccer fans have emerged as the extreme fringe of a deeply troubled France -- one whose problems include grappling with stiffening resistance to
immigration.
Unlike soccer hooliganism elsewhere, in which the antagonists are fans of rival teams, the clashes outside Parc des Princes are largely between fans rooting for the same team -- PSG. PSG supporters in the bleachers divide along racial lines in two opposing sections of stands -- the Kop of Boulogne behind one goal, and the Tribune d'Auteuil behind the other. Boulogne is nearly entirely Caucasian; Auteuil is multiracial, including whites.
Two all-white groups -- the Independents and the Casual Firm -- have fought with increasing ferocity in recent months with multiracial Tigris Mystic. (The English-language names of the white groups reflect the influence English soccer hooliganism has had in Europe.)
Some black players say the atmosphere at Parc des Princes has become intolerable. ''I'd have to think twice before setting foot there again,'' Senegal-born Patrick Vieira, a midfielder for the French national team, told The Associated Press.
During one match, a fan yelled at PSG midfielder Vikash Dhorasoo, a France international midfielder of Indian origin, ''Go sell peanuts in the metro.'' It was among the least offensive shouts in a tirade of vulgar epithets for blacks. PSG officials insist racists are a minority among the fans, and that their powers to combat such racists are limited -- even with 102 cameras inside the stadium. ''Understand one thing: PSG has no police authority or lawmaking power,'' the club's director of communications, Jean-Philippe d'Halliville, said in an interview.
On March 7, a Paris court convicted three PSG supporters of unfurling a racist banner at a February 2005 match held in support of an anti-racism campaign. The court banned the fans from the stadium for three years, ordering them to report to police during matches, and fined them up to $1,200. But that was a minor success in the fight against racist hooligans.
Many of the fans yelling insults are members of white hooligan gangs that prowl the stadium grounds on game day, looking for a rumble with black and Arab members of a multiethnic rival gang. Interviews with gang members and repeated visits to PSG games found that racist hooligans operate openly and with almost total impunity at the 43,000-seat stadium on the western outskirts of Paris.
Soccer, with its many black stars, should be a showcase of multiracial harmony -- especially in France, which draws heavily on talent from its former African colonies. Instead, brawling soccer fans have emerged as the extreme fringe of a deeply troubled France -- one whose problems include grappling with stiffening resistance to
immigration.
Unlike soccer hooliganism elsewhere, in which the antagonists are fans of rival teams, the clashes outside Parc des Princes are largely between fans rooting for the same team -- PSG. PSG supporters in the bleachers divide along racial lines in two opposing sections of stands -- the Kop of Boulogne behind one goal, and the Tribune d'Auteuil behind the other. Boulogne is nearly entirely Caucasian; Auteuil is multiracial, including whites.
Two all-white groups -- the Independents and the Casual Firm -- have fought with increasing ferocity in recent months with multiracial Tigris Mystic. (The English-language names of the white groups reflect the influence English soccer hooliganism has had in Europe.)
Some black players say the atmosphere at Parc des Princes has become intolerable. ''I'd have to think twice before setting foot there again,'' Senegal-born Patrick Vieira, a midfielder for the French national team, told The Associated Press.
During one match, a fan yelled at PSG midfielder Vikash Dhorasoo, a France international midfielder of Indian origin, ''Go sell peanuts in the metro.'' It was among the least offensive shouts in a tirade of vulgar epithets for blacks. PSG officials insist racists are a minority among the fans, and that their powers to combat such racists are limited -- even with 102 cameras inside the stadium. ''Understand one thing: PSG has no police authority or lawmaking power,'' the club's director of communications, Jean-Philippe d'Halliville, said in an interview.
On March 7, a Paris court convicted three PSG supporters of unfurling a racist banner at a February 2005 match held in support of an anti-racism campaign. The court banned the fans from the stadium for three years, ordering them to report to police during matches, and fined them up to $1,200. But that was a minor success in the fight against racist hooligans.
posted by garrettmullan
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