The National Council for Ethics and Professional Conduct (CNE) of the French Football Federation (FFF) has, in a letter consulted by L’Équipe, called on supporters to “leave in the changing rooms”, for the duration of the match, “anything that might cause division, in particular political and trade union affiliations”.
The statement comes in response to the flourishing of banners in some French stadiums in support of the major student movement, marked by clashes between protesters and the police, whose actions have been criticised for several incidents of violence observed in recent days.
Entitled “Supporters, let us preserve the neutrality of football in the face of the secondary school students’ movement” and signed by CNE President Frédéric Thiriez, the release reiterates that “the phenomenal success of sport, and football in particular, across the world is based on three fundamental principles: universality, equality and neutrality” and that the latter “must unite rather than divide”.
Citing the principle of neutrality set out in “the rules of sport”, at both national and international level, the statement continues: “Those involved in football, including supporters, are therefore asked, for the duration of the match, to leave behind in the changing rooms anything that might cause division, in particular political or trade union affiliations.”
In conclusion, the Council “calls on all supporters, who are an integral part of the football family, to uphold the principle of neutrality in all circumstances, so that the stadium does not become a political or trade union arena, but remains a place of celebration and togetherness centred on sport.”
