French football body urges fans and students to keep politics out of stadiums

Key points

• French football ethics body urges fans to keep politics out of stadiums.
• More than 6,600 arrests made nationwide as of last week.
• Fans displayed banners supporting students and criticizing police violence.

The ethics body of the French football federation has called on fans to remain neutral amid nationwide student protests that have drawn international attention. The National Council for Football Ethics (CNE) made the appeal after football supporters expressed solidarity with demonstrators during matches.

Police have used tear gas and batons to disperse largely peaceful protests, leading to widespread accusations of brutality. More than 6,600 arrests were made nationwide as of last week, a figure described as unusually high for a French protest movement.

Injuries blamed on police weapons

A police tear gas grenade shattered a 14-year-old's jaw and many of his teeth, while a 15-year-old lost a hand in an incident involving a stun grenade. Other teenagers have also suffered life-changing injuries blamed on police weaponry during protests.

Sport should unite, not divide.

— National Council for Football Ethics

Banners at Ligue 1 matches

During a Ligue 1 match between Lens and Lyon last week, home fans unfurled a banner calling for an end to the "disproportionate and systematic police violence," according to the CNE. The CNE also noted that at the half-hour mark of the PSG vs Le Mans match, supporters displayed a banner reading: "Your militias repress; our youth resists."

The CNE said it was easy to understand why young supporters, often students, might use matches to express support for demonstrators. However, it stressed that political neutrality is enshrined in sport laws, including the Olympic Charter and FIFA statutes, and that political, ideological, religious or trade union displays are prohibited.