The public prosecutor of Montpellier Fabrice Belargent announced the opening of a judicial inquiry “following the facts which were committed on January 15, 2023 in the context of the Montpellier-Nantes league 1 football match”. This match was interrupted after the throwing of numerous smoke bombs on the lawn by the ultras and the deployment of insulting banners towards the players of Montpellier, dryly beaten 6-1, a few days earlier in Nice.
These banners, some of which are of a homophobic nature, led to the “strongest condemnation” by the Minister of Sports, Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, on her Twitter account, “of these words, of these homophobic acts which must disappear from the enclosures of football and sports”.
Towards Professional Football League sanctions
It was written, among the many messages brandished by the “supporters”, “Team fags” and “Go all you fuck …”. “Their perpetrators must be identified, punished and kept permanently away from stadiums,” added Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, sharing photos taken at the Mosson stadium.
Meeting on Wednesday, the Disciplinary Committee of the Professional Football League will also rule on these incidents. The club, which risks significant sanctions, also reacted by denouncing “with the greatest firmness the homophobic remarks made on certain banners”.