French Minister of Sports Proposes Penalizing Teams with Defeats for Homophobic Chants by Fans.

The French Minister of Sports, Gilles Avrou, proposes strict penalties for football clubs due to fan behavior.

«Unfortunately, at times, we have to resort to collective sanctions. Relevant rules will be applied. The FIFA protocol must be strictly followed. As soon as homophobic chants start, the match is stopped for a few minutes and then possibly interrupted. Teams are sent to the locker rooms for a certain Time, and the game resumes if order is restored. A stricter measure – stopping the game and awarding a technical defeat with a score of 0:3 to the hosting side. The League and the French Football Federation have been instructed on the necessity of strict application of this regulation», – noted Gilles Avrou.

He also emphasized that the most severe consequences may result from improper fan behavior during the upcoming game between «Marseille» and «PSG» in the French championship.

«Homophobic expressions in the stadium are unacceptable. Perhaps in the past there were certain traditions, but society has changed. We want to return to the state that was during the Olympic Games. Sport unites people, transmitting values of humanity, freedom, equality, and fraternity. The values of the Republic. It's necessary to end these outdated chants. We will no longer tolerate this», – stated Avrou.

Let us recall that three players from the Austrian national football team were excluded from the team for two games due to homophobic chants.

The head coach of the Austrians, Ralf Rangnick, removed from the roster for matches against Slovakia and Turkey three players from Viennese «Rapid» – Marco Gruell, Guido Burgstaller, and goalkeeper Niklas Hedl.

The reason for such a decision was a video taken after «Rapid»'s victory in the derby against «Austria» on February 25, where players chant homophobic slogans. However, Rangnick did not rule out that the players might be called up to the national team in the future.

«I will not tolerate this in the team I coach. Everything we stand for is on the opposite pole, and I told the guys about this over the phone. I expect them to take this issue seriously and understand what it means for people when they are publicly insulted or discriminated against in this way», – said Rangnick.

As reported by Sky Sports, after the incident, Gruell, Burgstaller, Hedl, and two other players were disqualified for several rounds of the Austrian Bundesliga.

Additionally, the managing director of «Rapid» Steffen Hofmann and assistant head coach Stefan Kulovitz were temporarily suspended from work.