Referee threatens to stop Ligue 1 game over offensive language in stands

A French Ligue 1 referee threatened to halt a game on Sunday due to Nimes fans insulting the league organisers with offensive language during their visit to Monaco.

The French league has mooted the idea of introducing a list of banned words in football stadiums in an attempt to combat homophobia and bad language, but Nimes supporters hit back by telling them to “go fuck yourselves”.

A message over the PA system was read out to fans warning them to stop the chants or the game could be stopped, before the match continued with the Monaco supporters joining in with their Nimes counterparts.

Later on Sunday, Paris Saint-Germain’s ‘ultra’ fans also vented their fury towards the league during their game against Toulouse, displaying a banner which read: “Stop ultraphobia.”

Instructions were sent to referees before the start of the season to stop matches if homophobic songs could be heard, and the Ligue 2 game on August 16 between Nancy and Le Mans was halted for a few minutes — a first in France.

That match only resumed after Nancy players pleaded with their fans to stop.

Like Sunday’s game, those chants were directed at league authorities.

French Equalities Minister Marlene Schiappa later tweeted her congratulations to the referee who stopped the Le Mans-Nancy match, Mehdi Mokhtari.

On Saturday, a banner was briefly brandished during Angers’ match against Metz, which was refereed by high-profile female official Stephanie Frappart, saying: “Fuck the referee. Is it homophobic for a woman?”

Frappart became the first woman to referee a men’s European final earlier this month in Liverpool’s UEFA Super Cup win over Chelsea in Istanbul.

Monaco and Nimes drew 2-2 on Sunday in the principality.