France national hymn booed=stop the game?

[lefutur]

Im starting to lose all respect for Sarkozy, who never fails to show his disdain and lack of appreciation for the complexity that is the issue of immigration in France. Always trying to be the French George Bush, Sarkozy sees things as black and white and lacks the diplomatic grace of a true leader.

Here's the situation, the French national anthem gets booed and people get pissed off. But rather than just moving the games to a strategic location outside of Paris where this won't happen, they need to politicize it and clamp down on the perpetrators with an iron fist.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/article4950328.ece

So this is what will happen going forward, they will stop any game that results in the national anthem gets booed, or in France, whistled. It doesn't take a genius to predict what will happen.

Umm, let me guess, maybe riots, violence, fear?

Its almost like the powers that be are trying to instigate a fight.

Its a Bill O'Reilly approach to a complex issue that has nothing to do with sport and everything to do with poverty, racism, alienation, and ignorance.

The Stade de France has never been a good place for Les Bleus to play friendlies. The french fans never turn up and even when playing a less culturally sensitive side, it always seems like France is playing an away game.

Why insist on playing former colonies there? Its just stupid.

[Suyuntuy]

A mon avis ça vaudra mieux jouer des équipes de l'Amerique du Sud. L'Espagne a bien profité de leur style, assez different de le style Euro mais très forte.

Nov. 19 il y a un match amicale contre l'Uruguay. Domage qu'il sera au SdF.

[AfrcnHrbMan]

Sarko must stop with these bombastic and silly threats. You can't cancel a match for booing. And with that said I was angry and disgusted as well, on how the Marseillaise was so loudly booed in the nations capital. There were points when I couldn't even hear it. And you're right futur, that really has nothing to do with football, and that's the major point. This should be a unifier of the different peoples of France not a divider. It's one of the few avenues of life where you know you can excel based on merit, without the worry of being discriminated against for who you are. When you watch EDF walk on to that field, it really should be one of the times when you can legitimately feel French pride. Look at all those faces working towards a common goal under one flag. Henry, Benzema, Gourcuff. Diarra, Ben Afra, Toulalan..that is France. Those people booing the anthem were not taking a political stance, they were just being assholes, and deserve everyone's condemnation. Maybe its different for me, I've spent little time in France, so I don't know french discrimination all that well. But I sure as hell know American, and it has never stopped me from loving this country, and even shedding a little tear when I hear the star spangled banner played at a momentous occasion. My mom's family is of hatian descent and my father's guadeloupe so its likely France had enslaved my ancestors for a couple of hundred years, and I still sing La Marseillaise as loudly as your average Pierre Dupont. Maybe thats a differnence between a the beur mentality and one from les iles caribbean. They shouldn't have North African matches in Paris ever again, but its not like its gonna stop anyone from hopping on a train and going down to Nantes. Oh and Suyuntuy, why would playing Uruguay in the SDF be a problem?

[Suyuntuy]

The public tends to be "cold" in the SdF, according to the reports.

Unless it's against l'Algérie, Tunisie or Maroc, but then the public is warm _against_ Les Bleus. :(

[guignol]

the whole thing is being blown out of proportion. the marseillaise was being sung almost as loud as the whistling, which according to what we already know means there weren't more than a few hundred hecklers :D !

but considering the steps taken to avoid such a scene it was unfortunate. the worst is it's grist to sarko's mill. my son, raised in an atmosphere of tolerance, who has always got along great with maghrebin classmates and teammates, was livid. in people who tend to make hasty and ill-informed judgements (like 14 year olds) things like this can engender racism.

lucky he's got his old man to force him to take a closer look, like at all the people in the stands with their faces painted both colors, or holding up the two jerseys knotted together.

[Suyuntuy]

That's also my worry, and another reason why those matches shouldn't be played in Paris. Although a side of me tells me that those intelligent enough to consider should see it as a good sign that the fans of the North African teams can afford to be there. Taking it outside Paris and/or raising the prices would be even more discriminatory.

All in all, as a fan of Les Bleus and someone with 50% French roots, it does bother me. I can imagine it's a lot worse with the expats here.

[guignol]

well, that good sign is only very partial because the FFF distributes a lot of freebies for these matches through youth centers and neighborhood clubs.

[Padi]

the whole thing is being blown out of proportion. the marseillaise was being sung almost as loud as the whistling, which according to what we already know means there weren't more than a few hundred hecklers :D !

but considering the steps taken to avoid such a scene it was unfortunate. the worst is it's grist to sarko's mill. my son, raised in an atmosphere of tolerance, who has always got along great with maghrebin classmates and teammates, was livid. in people who tend to make hasty and ill-informed judgements (like 14 year olds) things like this can engender racism.

lucky he's got his old man to force him to take a closer look, like at all the people in the stands with their faces painted both colors, or holding up the two jerseys knotted together.

I think that is the most crucial thing, is to ensure that the acts of a few dont come to be seen as a representation of the many. Things like this can become blown out of all preoportion and divide people, when the whole intention of all the pre match stuff seemed to be about bringing the two nations closer.

It reminds me of a few years ago when England fans booed the Turkish national anthem. The english FA were quite rightly fined. But the back ground to the incident was that two Leeds United fans had been murdered by Galatasaray fans in clashes before a champions league clash. England fans obviously decided that the whole nation of Turkey was to blame and was therefore justified to unleash all there hatred on them for the ninety minutes. When the anthem was booed I was so embarressed and ashamed to be English, in the thought that not just Turkey but everyone who saw it would assume that everyone in England was like the average moron who booed. I wouldnt mind betting that the vast majority of Tunisians felt the same!

[Prenn]

I think that is the most crucial thing, is to ensure that the acts of a few dont come to be seen as a representation of the many. Things like this can become blown out of all preoportion and divide people, when the whole intention of all the pre match stuff seemed to be about bringing the two nations closer.

It reminds me of a few years ago when England fans booed the Turkish national anthem. The english FA were quite rightly fined. But the back ground to the incident was that two Leeds United fans had been murdered by Galatasaray fans in clashes before a champions league clash. England fans obviously decided that the whole nation of Turkey was to blame and was therefore justified to unleash all there hatred on them for the ninety minutes. When the anthem was booed I was so embarressed and ashamed to be English, in the thought that not just Turkey but everyone who saw it would assume that everyone in England was like the average moron who booed. I wouldnt mind betting that the vast majority of Tunisians felt the same!

Errr the FA wasn't fined because the Turkish anthem was booed they were fined because there was some racist chanting in the game.

[Padi]

Just checked on the FA website, and you are correct the fine was for xenophobic chanting. However the national anthem was booed, and the fact that there was xenophobic chanting makes it worse, and even more moronic on the part of the people who did it.

My original point still remains, the actions of a few idiots dont represent the many decent fans. Wether they be English or Tunisian.

[zippy85]

I think if we had a British football team forever we could have had a similar problem, maybe France is like Spain with all the different cultures, guess we're lucky we got to split into 5 different countries with five different teams and sets of fans.

[zippy85]

I think that is the most crucial thing, is to ensure that the acts of a few dont come to be seen as a representation of the many. Things like this can become blown out of all preoportion and divide people, when the whole intention of all the pre match stuff seemed to be about bringing the two nations closer.

It reminds me of a few years ago when England fans booed the Turkish national anthem. The english FA were quite rightly fined. But the back ground to the incident was that two Leeds United fans had been murdered by Galatasaray fans in clashes before a champions league clash. England fans obviously decided that the whole nation of Turkey was to blame and was therefore justified to unleash all there hatred on them for the ninety minutes. When the anthem was booed I was so embarressed and ashamed to be English, in the thought that not just Turkey but everyone who saw it would assume that everyone in England was like the average moron who booed. I wouldnt mind betting that the vast majority of Tunisians felt the same!
What a load of crap.

[guignol]

wednesday the TF1 muppets reached the nec plus ultra of n'importe quoi, trying to raise tension before the anthems... as if the 9-3 is full of uruguayan immigrants who feel hard done by the republic. pathetic from pathetic town.

the fans in the SdF mised a great opportunity though: they were alternately very positive, chanting, doing the wave, singing la marseillaise... and negative, hooting and whistling. with a little organization they could have had half sing and half whistle simultaneously so sarko would whisk them all home and spare them the tedium of the flattest match in recent memory.

[zippy85]

wednesday the TF1 muppets reached the nec plus ultra of n'importe quoi, trying to raise tension before the anthems... as if the 9-3 is full of uruguayan immigrants who feel hard done by the republic. pathetic from pathetic town.

the fans in the SdF mised a great opportunity though: they were alternately very positive, chanting, doing the wave, singing la marseillaise... and negative, hooting and whistling. with a little organization they could have had half sing and half whistle simultaneously so sarko would whisk them all home and spare them the tedium of the flattest match in recent memory.
What sounds worse and more scary for a player, booing or whistling, I have only heard booing.

[guignol]

it's a cultural thing: americans and brits boo, on the continent fans mostly express discontent by whistling.

you'll often see the term "booing" in english language posts and articles to try to avoid confusion but what's really going on is whistling.

[AfrcnHrbMan]

it's a cultural thing: americans and brits boo, on the continent fans mostly express discontent by whistling.

you'll often see the term "booing" in english language posts and articles to try to avoid confusion but what's really going on is whistling.

Though neither has happened to me (I'm a lowly amateur), for some reason whistling seems like it would be more nervewracking. It gets sooo loud some times and piercing. It feels like a dagger through your soul when the SDF really gets into it!, I can only imagine what its like if you're on the pitch.

[guignol]

whistling certainly carries, that's why shepherds communicate with their dogs that way.

it doesn't take many whistlers to make a racket: recently when fred was whistled off the field (undeservedly) it sounded like all of gerland was at it, but i didn't see ONE person around me whistling, and i was sitting with the footix.

[zippy85]

whistling certainly carries, that's why shepherds communicate with their dogs that way.

it doesn't take many whistlers to make a racket: recently when fred was whistled off the field (undeservedly) it sounded like all of gerland was at it, but i didn't see ONE person around me whistling, and i was sitting with the footix.
Yea i suppose it depends what you are used to, too.