Saint-Denis (AFP)
Turkish fans gathered in the visitor park at the Stade de France have mostly applauded the Marseillaise at the time when the French national anthem was played on Monday before the start of the qualifying match for the Euro-2020, unlike the first in Konya.
Many fans of the Turkish national team made the trip Monday night in Saint-Denis. They were 3,800 in the space reserved for the visiting supporters but even more distributed in the other spans.
The call for calm launched Sunday by the Turkish coach has been heard. "Sometimes, there are provocations in the stands but I want to address the Turkish fans: if they come to see a match, it's for the pleasure of seeing football.I want them to applaud the two teams, also the France team, "said Senol Günes.
On June 8, in Turkey, the Marseillaise had been whistled by a part of the Konya stadium, where France had lost 2-0.
Emmanuel Macron had called the whistles "unacceptable" and had "made it known" at Christmas Le Graët. "No incident", had cut short the president of the French Football Federation. "The Blues have not been well received by a number of supporters but very well by others," he said.
The coach Didier Deschamps had evoked a moment "very unpleasant", while qualifying: "Unfortunately it is not specific to France and the Marseillaise since it has already happened there to other national teams".
The revenge of Monday night in Saint-Denis is held in a tense diplomatic context because of the Turkish military intervention against Kurdish forces in northern Syria, an initiative widely condemned by the international community, including France.
In the vicinity of the stadium and inside, the police and security apparatus was reinforced for fear of overflowing. No incidents were reported at the time of kick-off.
© 2019 AFP