It begins to become a recurring and always unbearable sound when a French club travels far from its borders in the European Cup. In Lisbon, in Milan recently and again this Tuesday evening in Barcelona, supporters, in this case those of Paris Saint-Germain who faced Barça in the quarter-final second leg of the Champions League (1-4), are complaints of abusive searches carried out by stewards at the entrance to the stadium.
“To everyone’s surprise: very intrusive searches on Parisian supporters,” alerted Tuesday, early in the evening, Anoush Morel, Parisian supporter and president of the Her Game Too France association, on X. Her post, other supporters confirm. She tells us in detail about a somewhat chaotic and above all very intense search: “There were no clear and defined lines, everyone was crowded together. We were a small group of women and we had difficulty just finding the right line for the search. When the steward told me to come, I already heard a Parisian supporter who was being searched say: damn, it’s intense there, even though she had her chest grabbed with both hands. Two seconds later, it happens to me too. »
To everyone’s surprise: very intrusive searches of Parisian supporters. You will hear from quite a few female supporters. Hello @laliga how are you ?
— Anoush (@AnoushMo) April 16, 2024
If the searches in Spain are renowned for being particularly rough, “but not to harm the physical integrity of the spectators,” protests the young woman, who made her very first European trip with her favorite club this Tuesday. Under no circumstances do you have the right to put your hands in your bra.”
Supporter says she was searched by man
“After the breasts, she passed her hand between my buttocks and pubis. Then said to me: turn around, and the same. At the moment, I look at the other girls and wonder if I’m the only one who has experienced such a weird thing. Many said they had never experienced something so intense and horrible. I was so disappointed. It was a very special moment for me, I’m with my friends, the match was crazy but it’s ruined by this thing… It’s super violent to experience. »
In total, Anoush explains that she spoke to around twenty supporters, many of them in the parking lot, who all described to her the same scene that she experienced. Another testimony was given to him by a PSG fan who was searched by a man, which is, in theory, prohibited. “We’ll have to do something, it’s the same every time we travel to Europe,” she whispers. Whether at the Parc or in the other stadiums that I have been able to do in France or in Europe, everything has always been done with respect for our bodies. »
The CUP and the ANS reacted quickly
In the stands, she decides to try to alert a manager of the Collectif Ultras Paris (CUP), who also happens to be a delegate from the National Supporters Agency (ANS), the association which brings together French and defends their rights and interests. This Tuesday morning, the ANS and the “Her Game Too” association published and shared a reporting form for fans who would like to report abusive searches, and the club, which was able in the past to contact UEFA when its supporters were victims of abusive searches, in Lisbon in particular, it seems that they have already been informed.
If you suffered illegal pat-downs in Barcelona yesterday, we invite you to contact @FansEurope and our association. FSE collects feedback on fan travel every week and then sends reports to UEFA.
— Asso.Nat.Supporters (@A_N_Supporters) April 17, 2024
“I am delighted that the supporters reacted like that so quickly, it makes me proud,” says Anoush Morel. It might sound crazy what I’m about to say, but they had other fish to fry before the game kicked off. In fact, no: for them it’s very important too: there are women on every trip, at the Park. I am proud of the supporters, of the club, and that the players avenged us… even without knowing it. »
