A month after having contributed to putting the question of homophobia in football at the center of the news, by sounding the alert on the homophobic chants sung during PSG-OM and systematically in the stands of Ligue 1, the collective “ Rouge Direct” announced in a press release this Tuesday the suspension of its activities “in the face of massive homophobic cyber harassment and death threats”, with multiple and shocking evidence to support this. Its spokesperson, Julien Pontes, explains the reasons for this decision and calls for a reaction from Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, the Minister of Sports.
How did you come to the decision to suspend your activities?
JULIEN PONTES. The decision was not negotiable from the moment we received death threats. We had already received them before, but then our lawyer called us to tell us that from his point of view, it would be wiser to suspend our activities. He also wanted us to delete our account. For the moment, we prefer to consider that the fight will be able to resume in secure conditions, which is not the case today.
We have just learned of the categorical refusal of the Minister of Sports @AOC1978 to publicly send a simple message of support to the human rights activists under threat of death that we are.
We are in total incomprehension and dismay. https://t.co/AJvGrEVulX
— Rouge Direct (@RougeDirect) October 31, 2023
We can easily imagine that the episode around PSG-OM caused the insults and threats aimed at you to skyrocket…
PSG supporters wanted to know where our premises were to come and visit us. I take this seriously: a few days ago, another association leader received a visit from PSG supporters at his home. You have to receive death threats to understand them. I was already very affected, two years ago, when we were told: “we should reopen the camps for people like you”. We don’t understand this level of homophobic hatred, but we are used to it. It was really the lawyer who put our feet back on the ground on this one. For the past few weeks, I have been careful when I leave the house. It is not normal.
A month ago, the subject of homophobia in football was in the news after PSG-OM. Today you cease your activities. How did the situation turn around so quickly?
First thing: we should never have had to expose ourselves publicly as we did. Why were we forced to expose ourselves? Because football authorities create the conditions for whistleblowers like us to be obliged to do so. I point out the responsibility of the LFP in particular, for its inaction, which forces citizens like us to publicly denounce what should be punished by sporting regulations, filing complaints, reporting to the prosecutor.
Another thing: on August 31, a few weeks before the start of this phase of uninterrupted incidents, we were received by the Minister of Sports with other associations. She had validated the measures that had been submitted to her, which made it possible to have more effective and targeted repressive action. Despite this, there has been a total decline in these commitments. On October 12, she sent us a letter in which she completely abandoned the commitments she had made regarding sanctions. For us, it was a terrible disappointment.
How did you react ?
I had suggested to the other members of the collective that we cease our activities from that moment on, it was one betrayal too many. It is in this context, in an unstoppable and logical manner, that homophobic hatred has only increased. Why would homophobic supporters refrain from shouting “we must kill these fags” when there is no real risk of them? We are here in 2023 and in these conditions, in addition to death threats, we must think about preserving our physical and moral integrity.
Do you still hope to be able to reverse the trend?
Yes, a thousand times yes but under certain simple conditions. The Minister of Sports must publicly affirm her support for human rights activists facing death threats. She must report to the prosecutor all the criminal elements that have been put on the table publicly. If she comes back to us, implements the measures that she had initially validated and if she accepts, which she has always refused to us, to integrate us into the work of the national supporterism body that she brings together on December 18 , the return to activities will of course be relevant.
Do you blame the minister for this situation, despite her public support and her very vocal condemnations of homophobic chants?
We don’t blame him for anything. This woman is totally sincere and complete in her aversion to homophobia and all discrimination. But she comes up against all-powerful authorities. It is challenged by authorities which are, institutionally, under its supervision. We do not doubt her will to do this, but she must not waste any more time. We have seen the level of violence in football, we must uphold the rule of law. An Ipsos survey released 2 months ago says that 78% of French people want us to do more at this level, all the lights are green to move up a gear. When Philippe Diallo was appointed, at no time did the Comex work with LGBT or anti-racist associations on an action plan. We continue in line with Noël Le Graët. For us, it’s desperate. The minister must now give us hope with concrete actions.
