Luis Enrique had a lot on his heart. A few moments after the victory won by his men during the Paris derby against the PFC at the end of the 17th day of Ligue 1 (2-1), the Spanish technician denounced an “injustice” in reference to the brief interruption of the game linked to insulting chants coming from the stands of the Parc des Princes.
“In all the stadiums, they call us all the names, but they only stop our matches at the Park,” denounced the PSG coach. “We go to Lyon, Nantes, Marseille, and we accept all atmospheres. They only hear negative chants at the Park,” he added before adding another layer: “In all the stadiums there are chants against our players, our club, against our president and against everything and they never stop the matches. They only stop him in Paris and that’s what I criticize. »
In Paris, regular interruptions in recent years
As a reminder, Benoît Bastien, the referee of the match, stopped the debates during added time, going to speak with the two coaches and Marquinhos, the captain of the reigning French champions. At issue: an insulting chant comparing the Marseillais to rats, traditionally sung by the Parisian ultras in the run-up to matches against OM. There was no exception this Sunday, four days before the Champions Trophy between the two clubs.
Problem: controversial singing has been in the sights of the LFP for several years, which considers it discriminatory. PSG had already paid the price in March 2025, on the eve of the Classic won 3 goals to 1 by Ousmane Dembélé and his partners during the return phase in Ligue 1. A few days earlier, during the match against Lille (4-1, March 1), the Parisian speaker had been forced to call his supporters to order to read the prevention message planned by the League, as was the case this Sunday at the Park.
Unnecessary precautions since during the clash against OM, on March 16, 2025, the “rat song” resounded again, forcing the speaker to speak to remind supporters that the match risked being “interrupted or even lost by the club”. At the time, the Auteuil corner, which had also been noted for insults towards the Rabiot family, had suffered a partial closure.
The question of homophobic chants also arose at the Parc des Princes at the end of 2024. On October 19 against Strasbourg, still on the sidelines of the match against Marseille, the ultras launched into a series of hostile chants against their historic rival: “The Marseillais are bastards, sons of bastards, bastards, and by the balls we will hang them, yes but they don’t have any balls. »
Results: a partial closure of the Auteuil bend for a meeting and the return of a controversy which had become national at the end of the Classic in September 2023, after the same song was condemned by the Ministry of Sports, leading to a report to the courts.
Many Ligue 1 stadiums also affected
But is it true that matches are interrupted more often at the Parc des Princes than elsewhere, as Luis Enrique explains? While it is true that no away game played by PSG has been interrupted recently, this case remains common in several Ligue 1 stadiums.
Just the day before, Éric Wattellier, for example, did not hesitate to temporarily interrupt the match between Lille and Rennes due to insults against him, the League and the media, but also homophobic chants made by the Losc ultras targeting the Lensois. As at the Parc, the Lille announcer was responsible for making an announcement over the microphone to try to calm his supporters.
Same treatment at the Saint-Symphorien stadium for the meeting between Metz and Lens, on October 30, 2025, still for insulting songs peppering the stands in Metz (“Kill them, kill them”, “Lensois, Lensois, we fuck you”, “Messins, fuck your mother”; “We’re f***ing you”).
The debates also briefly stopped on August 23 during the Lyon-Metz match for insults and banners addressed by certain Rhone supporters to John Textor, their former owner. The interruption lasted two minutes at the Stadium during Toulouse-Monaco on March 7, 2025 after the “LFP, ni*** your mother” chanted by TFC fans.
Another stadium regularly targeted by untimely stoppages of matches: the Allianz Riviera in Nice. Against Paris FC, on September 28, the main Nice ultra club resumed homophobic chants targeting the Ile-de-France opponent, leading to a stoppage of almost three minutes at the end of the match. Jonathan Clauss, the Nice captain, was even asked by the match referee to calm down his supporters. A few weeks later, Jérôme Brisard caused discomfort by interrupting the match between Gym and OL for homophobic chants sung by the Nice ultras against… Daesh.
Even more striking was the display of banners calling for the start of the “rat hunt” before the Nice-Marseille derby on January 28, 2025. The game had not been stopped – since it had not yet started – but the stand concerned had been closed for three matches.
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