While whistling to the Marseillaise once again during an international match, some supporters probably did not expect such a specifically political response. Regardless of whether this was premeditated or not: isn’t governing about anticipating? Nevertheless, the decision by the President of the Republic to now require the interruption of the game in case of a repeat incident left a strong impression. Proportional to the stakes: the world of football has become vulnerable to risks that surpass it and concern both authorities and sports and association leaders.
After a synthesis by the former Central Directorate of General Intelligence, a study by LICRA as early as 2005 confirmed the rise of racism in this sport as well as the growth of communalism within teams. Along with these initial findings, there were troubling indications of a phenomenon of amateur football being infiltrated by Islamist fundamentalist movements. This communalism is now coupled with a surge of violence condemned both by major newspapers and, *mezza voce*, by referees. Of the 28,000 referees listed in France, many “dare not file complaints for fear of reprisals,” according to a representative of the French National Union of Referees (UNAF). The excessive individual stardom of players at the risk of an “ego” that club emblems can no longer transcend, or sports directors who no longer dare to be outraged by the ignorance of the national anthem by the majority of a team: it appears that the intermingling of footballers through a heightened and financially dominant transfer policy has tended to weaken, if not dissolve in some cases, the identity dimension of clubs. The arrival of a new player often comes with a lot of publicity highlighting his personality, career, and exploits. His arrival is accompanied – other team members cannot ignore this – by considerable financial stakes and underlying career challenges. In these conditions, the newcomer can only arouse suspicion and fear among his colleagues in the moment. Yet the stability and solidity of a brotherhood require time to recognize and exist within a shared challenge.
The political power has therefore taken a stand. Tired of the eternal complaints of professionals who, always ready to condemn verbally but more rarely to sanction in action, do not know how to look beyond their financial interests, the Elysée has decided not to dwell on the technical arguments put forward by the Federation – an eminently French maneuver to block any political decision – to justify the continuation of the game: football fields do not yet enjoy extraterritorial status like embassies. As for the idea of needing to solicit the referee, it ignores an old adage of French administrative law: when the house burns, one does not ask the mayor for permission to send the firefighters. Far from invalidating the presidential decision, some arguments made to oppose it ultimately only add to the gloomy atmosphere surrounding football, which Frédéric Thiriez already proclaimed as “over” in January 2003. The apparent concern of merchants questioned by the press in case of an unforeseen match interruption speaks volumes about the degradation of the human environment on sports fields, despite a tradition consecrating them as inviolable sanctuaries against violence. As for proposals by some socialist leaders to “suppress the national anthem at the start of the match” to avoid exciting crowds, it recalls the curious idea of ending coeducation…to prevent brutality exercised by boys against girls.
In this context, the double decision, as courageous as it is financially significant, recently taken in Germany can only be applauded: firstly, the German Cycling Federation’s decision not to organize the Tour in Germany and secondly, the decision by the two television channels ARD and ZDF not to broadcast the images of the Grand Tour this year. Both due to persistent doping problems.
A decision upon which football professionals will not fail to reflect. The very liberal child and adolescent psychoanalyst D.W. Winnicott explained it in his way: the delinquent act hopes to encounter resistance from the environment.
