Paris (AFP)

Supporters of the Paris-SG posted on social networks photos of offensive banners deployed in Paris, before the "Clasico" of the Championship against rival Marseille, an initiative that sparked accusations of homophobia and sexism on Sunday.

The Ultras Paris Collective (CUP), the main group of fans of the capital club, posted on Twitter in the morning two photos of banners, deployed in front of the Parc des Princes and on the Bir-Hakeim bridge, in front of the Eiffel Tower .

One, on which one could read "PSG-OM: 9 years of sodomy in an organized gang", drew accusations of homophobia.

The other attacked Marseille player Dimitri Payet and his wife.

"Impunity in the face of homophobia in football only feeds it. On March 17, 2019, there were homophobic insults during a PSG-OM in the presence of the minister," denounced AFP Julien Pontes, spokesperson for the Rouge Direct collective, which fights against homophobia in football.

"We will certainly file a complaint against these banners as we do every time. We are the only ones to do it. Why the mayor of Paris does not do it? PSG, OM, football authorities should react," he continued.

The CUP, which did not respond to AFP's requests, tweeted in the evening two new photos of banners attacking OM with sexual insults, deployed in front of the Parc des Princes and the Moulin red.

- calm around the stadium -

"Ligue 1 resumes, sexist and homophobic messages too. French football deserves so much better than insults!", Responded the Intergovernmental Delegate to the fight against racism, anti-Semitism and anti-LGBT hatred Frédéric Potier.

In the Auteuil stand where the ultras usually take place, another banner "You have honored our colors, soil theirs" was present before the start of the match.

Around the stadium, the atmosphere was very calm, with a thick police force around the Parisian enclosure.

PSG receives in the evening (9:00 p.m.) its rival Marseille, against whom it has not lost since 2011.

During the March 2019 match, Sports Minister Roxana Maracineanu, present at the stadium, qualified certain Parisian chants as "inadmissible".

Refrains assimilating the Marseillais to "rats", "queers" or "motherfuckers" had then been heard.

Subject to the restrictions of the government gauge, the Parc des Princes reduced the number of spectators to around 4,000 for the "Clasico", always eagerly awaited.

The CUP has already announced at the end of August that it will "neither go to the Parc des Princes nor travel, as long as the situation does not change."

© 2020 AFP