Booing the National Anthem? France Says Next Time They’ll Take Their Ball and Go Home

They’ve got every right to boo a disrespectful and offensive anthem like that, especially because of their current and past relationships. Spain on the other hand, shouldn’t have. I agree booing and whistling anthems is wrong, but this is more complex, as has already been stated, and I think you can’t really blame them for it.

Maybe they should leave france if they hate it so much. I mean its not the soviet union. You are allowed to leave whenever you wish. If they feel algeria or tunisia or morocco are more fair socieities, then have a go.

This is very complex indeed. French of north african descent are not really considered French in France, nor Tunisians/Algerians/Moroccans in their parents’ home country. If the game was held in Tunis, it’s quite likely that only a few would’ve booed the opponent’s anthem (but then again, these are the people that boo even the Seychelle’s anthem). The whole thing has been blown way out of proportion by french politicians. It’s the fans’ loss if they don’t want to play “these games” anymore. Last year’s France-Morocco was one of the most entertaining matches I’ve ever watched, and these games have a special flavour, since our players always look to the french league as their first step in european football, and everybody wants to impress on such games.

agree with tje, no one is forcing them to stay in france. if you don’t it then leave

boooooooo

Who said they were living in France? They can’t have gone from Tunisia to the game?
Either way, you can’t just say “GTFO.”
Cuz yeah, let me just pack up all my shit, quit my job, leave everyone I know and go somewhere else. That makes sense right?

If you hate the place you are at, it makes perfect sense to me. But I dont hate where I live, so I really cant say. And the people booing, were from france. Lets be real here. Its happened many times with these arab/n african games.

Bottom line: If france seems that oppressive to them for them to boo the anthem, then I would think they would do all they can to get out of such an oppressive place. Yet its the opposite–they do all they can to get in. Maybe their attitude has something to do with the failures they feel in life.

Fucking disgrace. You aren’t happy? Go to Tunisia/Morocco/Algeria and boo there while watching it on TV. I’m not pro-French, not at all… but I think that coming to France and given an opportunity the y lacked in their respective countries doesn’t give a fickle of right to boo a French anthem, even if they disagree. Camera’s were at work, just find who were booing and fucking send em back to Africa with 10 years non return clause.

Houssem, vous comprenez, oui?

Oh oui je comprends. Don’t get me wrong, I’m against booing anthems or disrespecting any of a sovereign state’s symbols. Yet those kids who booed the Marseillaise didn’t come from Tunisia. They were the same kids from the nearby parisian suburbs who nearly set the whole country on fire back in 2005. They are French citizens, and so are most of their parents, yet the République seems to have forgotten about them. That much frustration can lead to booing the anthem and even more dangerous things. Yet I still think that if that game had taken place in Tunis, none of this would’ve happenend. I hope they don’t cancel next year’s game (already scheduled for november 2009)

they have every right to boo..esp becuz zindine didan shud be known as an algerian star not a french one and samir nasri shud be known from whereever the fuc he comes from not from france…man tht is very frustrating to no tht all ur ethnic stars r goin to help another country esp when ur nation is struggling…besides the factors tht hossem mentioned r very tru…… BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you don’t like the USA, You leave. If you do not like France, You leave. If you stay, you work against all of the odds, make a living & stop complaining. A looser always going to make excuses, the winner does not have to say anything, the facts are there.
We love the USA & we love France & we were not born in either country. We are immigrants who work very hard & do not receive anything free from the government.

I think Muslims have an issue with living in non-muslim socieities. They are always whining and threatening and violent. The stupid, crimnal rioters in parisian suburbs were just thugs who hate living in “someone else’s” nation. that is what it boils dwon to. Sarkozy ought to offer to pay for one-way ticket for anyojne who hates france. If you stay, work toward a beter life. Otherwise, go now.

Completely erroneous statement: “I think we can all agree that booing a national anthem is wrong. Always.”

tje hickorij:

I don’t think this has much to do with religion as it has to do with Tunisia being a former colony of France and the way they acted towards that colony. I dont think anyone was yelling jihad.

OMAR: why should zidane be considered an Algerian star if he was born and raised in France? Why should Nasri be not be considered French if he was born, educated and raised in France? What is your definition of an authentic Frenchman? Or an authentic Algerian? Why is it that if you are born and raised in France–but have parents who were born elsewhere–then you cannot be considered French? What has zidane ever done for the Algerian national team? If France eduated and trained zidane since he was born, why shouldn’t France benefit from his talents if he so chooses?

Are you a supporter of Jean Marie Le Pen and the racists from the National Front who argue that players like Zidane and Henry and Nasri, etc. are not really French because they’re not white or their parents are from other countries? Are you saying children of immigrants should be denied French nationality?

I think it’s only conservative French politicians who are up in arms about the booing. Surely most of France’s politicians must be used to this kind of thing by now, it happens in every game against a former colony. It’s something they should expect. When the US plays against Mexico and other Latin American countries, the Star Spangled Banner gets booed quite often. It comes with the territory if you want to be a world power that once rampaged (or still rampages) thru weaker countries. Get the hell over it. Deal with it. Just get on with it. Either that, or cancel all games with former colonies. Stupid solution but since there’s absolutely nothing they can do to stop the booing, and they’re determined to do something about it, then cancelling all such games is the only answer.

It’s a ludicrous reaction from these politicians. The kids from the banlieues suffer greatly from the racial contradictions in France. (I speak as someone who loves France with no apology, who feels enormous admiration, respect and affection for France). In France officially everyone is French, equal before the law. In practice, it’s something else. And it’s not only they who boo the anthem. Lots of French men and women with no familial ties to the former colonies, white, purebread French for generations, often boo the anthem. I agree, it’s not a good thing to do. Neither is booing players but it’s an inevitable, predictable, natural occurrence and you can’t stop it from happening.

The French national anthem is schizophrenic. It is widely viewed (even by the francophobic British) as the world’s most stirring, memorable anthem. I agree, I love the music. It’s my #1 favorite anthem. I never get tired of hearing it. For me there is no more stirring moment in the history of film than when Paul Henried leads the Marseillaise against the group of Nazis singing their anthem in Rick’s Cafe in CASABLANCA.

However, as Laurie mentions, the lyrics are very problematic. Lots of French people of whatever background genuinely do not like the lyrics. Like the Star Spangled Banner, it’s a militarist, bloodthirsty song.

I try to ignore the lyrics.

Unlike the Star Spangled Banner, the lyrics are compensated for by fantastic music. With the US anthem, my instinct is to boo or at least block my ears. I never have booed the anthem but I don’t mind it at all when others in the stadium do so. It’s a thoroughly miserable anthem to have to listen to. But not only for the lousy music and lyrics. It’s also because of my Latin American background. For me it is an anthem that will always represent imperialism, support for dictatorships and human rights abuses. That’s the same kind of associations the Marseillaise has for people in former colonies or descendants of immigrants from those colonies.

The French politicians who are so upset about this don’t understand that you simply can’t wipe away history.

Have to agree with Steve. No matter what, booing a national anthem is wrong. I think it is a sad indiment of your character if you feel the need to boo another nation’s anthem. Every country has issues, booing does nothing to fix anything.
As for the US anthem, I think it is a great anthem. To me it represents freedom and a will to live. The complete opposite of a support of dictatorship and human right abuses. I am actually curious how you view it as a representation of that, I have never heard someone’s view like that about it!

Abandon the game because of a booed national anthem? Fucking deal with it. That’s like abandoning it because of a yo mama joke. I boo my own national anthem.

What interests me about this whole brouhaha is that it is really a proxy battle that has very little to do with the booing of the national anthem. For the immigrants, it’s a battle against a society that will never allow them to fully participate. For the politicians, it’s a protest against the immigrants for not accepting what’s given to them. None of this anything to do with football.

Steve, I’m curious. When do you feel it’s acceptable to boo a national anthem?

booo the solution, cancelling games, that is really dumbbb.

So, suppose im lemerre, coach of marocco and i have to play against france tomorrow. But Ow,, damn, my star player has diarhoa and can’t play tomorrow. Ow gosh, my keeper stumbled over a wireless telephone. Sacre bleu, I cant play like this tomorrow. But.. Hey!! I can postpone the game! Bye saying the magic word Boo! booooooooooooooooooooo

stupid solution really, and wowowoww sandrahn your comments are hugeeeee and impressionant ;p

Muslims like to fight others–in Indonesia, Thailand, India, Mid east, europe–cartoons, etc–sudan, nigeria, basically wherever they live, they live without harmony toward those of a different religion. In France, its no different. They have no desire to “assimilate”, much prefer to bitch and threaten.

And the USA anthem is about a DEFENSIVE war to protect the freedom of the individual in the homeland against foreign dictators. Listen to the actual lyrics. I agree USA foreing policy is fucked up sometimes, no doubt, but the anthem does not speak to that.

Guys, don’t forget that during the African Nations Cup, Tunisian fans booed the anthems of all the countries that they faced. During the World Cup in 06, ditto. It isn’t just Tunisians of course who boo other peoples anthems, but this is an acceptable form of “intimidation” of the opponent’s players/support for certain fans. Don’t let the media and the politicians make you believe that these guys are trying to make a political statement. For them, booing the players and booing the anthem is the same thing. Like someone said, they even boo the Seychelles anthem if they play against them. Booing the anthem is reprehensible of course, but it happens all the time in soccer. Unfortunately, some countries’ fans tend to do it more than others. As far as I know, there wasn’t any booing of the French national anthem during the France-Mali friendly earlier this year, and yet France has loads of Malian immigrants who are treated no better than the others and Mali is a former colony.

The only time this sort of thing got completely out of hand was during the France-Algeria game at the Stade de France, when the fans started throwing stuff at members of the government who were in attendance and then invaded the pitch when Algeria was loosing. Ever since then, people in France have been very sensitive to this sort of thing because they are afraid it could happen again. Also the relationship with Algeria is different than with other Maghreb countries because of the war of Algerian independence (1954 – 1962) which was very hard on the Algerian people and understandably left a great deal of resentment.

Sorry for the second post, but I just wanted to add that the theory of the Marseillaise being offensive because of its lyrics is not accurate. The lyrics were written during the revolution before France had any colonies (except in the Caribbean and these are now part of France) and they are militaristic because France was involved in wars with its neighbors at the time. Even if the lyrics were all about Care Bears and magical unicorns, it would still get booed at soccer games.

I find the response that you can either love your country or leave it pretty shocking. Should blacks have left the country or should they have fought for equal rights? Should the colonists not have fought against unjust laws but instead gone back to England? I think it’s very patriotic to speak out when you believe your country is not living up to its own ideals. Believing that a country can do no wrong is a very dangerous idea no matter where you live. Your child may do something that makes you disappointed in him but that doesn’t mean you don’t love him or expect better of him. Love it or leave it? Seriously?

Laurie, here’s why I think it’s acceptable to boo national anthems. As an anarchist, I reject any sort of nationalism or promotion of the state. And saying France’s relations with its former colonies are “complex” goes way beyond sugar-coating. Those countries may not be colonies anymore, but the racism and social inequities that fueled colonization are still very much alive today. Besides, fans travel hundreds of miles and spend hundreds of dollars to attend these matches, would it be smart to tell them “sorry, some folks were expressing what’s called the right to free speech in a protest against outdated and imperialistic beliefs that are still embodied by politicians and the police, among others. the match has been cancelled, go home.” ?

Laurie, I’m wondering what your opinion is on the declarations given by one UEFA president Michel Platini on the whole matter.

In particular:

Je ne vois pas dans les sifflets qu’on a entendus au Stade de France un manque de respect ou une insulte à la France mais simplement des manifestations contre un adversaire d’un soir, en l’occurrence l’équipe de France, que l’on veut battre. (…) Une fois encore, le football est pris en otage par le monde politique car cette histoire de sifflets est devenue une affaire politique qui n’a rien à voir avec le sport.

Kinda what some of the Offside readers have been saying already, but it’s nice to see a French person who’s up there in “upper management” thinks the same thing.

hey dude who wrote the super long blog….ur retareded and dont no the situation!

omar, please do shut up.

Marco, I agree with Platini here. It’s the politicians like Sarkozy and LePen who want to make this a bigger issue. My thought: Just deal with it.

Omar, offering up blanket criticism doesn’t advance the debate much, does it? If you disagree with specific points, feel free to express that.

Sam: And saying France’s relations with its former colonies are “complex” goes way beyond sugar-coating.

I don’t think I agree with you. France’s liberal immigration policies for citizens of its former colonies go far beyond what is allowed by most European countries. They could have much more closed immigration policies, but they don’t. On the other hand, they could work much harder to help iimmigrants assimilate, but they don’t. To me, this is “complex.”

First of all OMAR you are the RETARD for not spelling RETARDED correctly.

Some great points have been presented here both for and against disrespecting the National Anthem. As a Canadian this problem is not exclusive to France,
when ever our poor National Soccer team plays it’s a road game for them!!!
I think it goes far beyond just cheering the opposition for having roots there, the problem is the Canadian government for overly promoting multi-culturalism
to the point that leaves a society with no common threads and unity.
Well Hockey and Beer are the pillars, I mean Hockey and non-alcoholic beer
(for Muslim citizens!) are the pillars of the Canadian society.

The night of the match against Austria was my first night in Paris and I
was shocked that no one and I mean not one French citizen was wearing the jersey and I had a tough time finding a cafe that was showing the match.
Now don’t forget the Domenech factor ! LOL
Integration of all cultures will take time as history been teaching us, from the time that the Irish immigrated to the U.S.A. very similar to when the Portuguese and the Italians immigrated to Canada of which now they have their own prospering communities in Canada.
The hatred is deeply rooted and the French government should stop their open door policy until they can improve the current situation. Specially when you’re inviting guests who seem to be quite ungrateful and whining.
As someone who migrated to Canada 31 years ago, whining and booing the National Anthem is a feeble and childish attempt to making effective changes, and does nothing but ruining the electric atmosphere of the match.

Does anyone else get the feeling that all of Europe is gearing up for racial strife? Ethnic Europeans are becoming more and more insular and giving parliament seats to right wing coalitions… in my mind, Spain, France, and Italy are the closest to the breaking point.

Bobo, the real problem is that far too many Muslims hate those who are not like them. The Europeans are too multiculti, and now its fucking them. So , of course, eventually they will turn to right -wing parties…..b/c the center and the left are owned by the suicidal multicultists.

The best revenge, of course, is crushing the team of the booing opposition. As for booing itself, everyone has a right to express themselves, it is all relative and circumstantial, it is not right or wrong, but hinges upon whether the individual has been brought up to recognize the bounds of civility.