REPORTAGE
"It really does something." After 140 days of weaning, Parisian supporters finally returned to their stadium on Friday evening. They were able to attend a PSG friendly match against the modest Belgian team from Beveren. The Paris club won an expected victory, 7 to 0 with goals from Neymar, Mbappé or Icardi, the stars of the club. Although the barrier measures were generally respected, many ultras quickly forgot the rules of physical distance.
"For the past few months, we've been a little orphan of Paris Saint-Germain, so it's nice," comments Olivier, who, like the 4,500 supporters at the Parc des Princes, enjoyed this moment. With a gauge set at 5,000 people in the stands, the stadium was only filled to a tenth of its capacity. But who cares, the simple pleasure of resuming a seat in the stands was enough for his happiness. "It sounded a little hollow but there were still supporters, and then the weather was nice, it was the first after the deconfinement, it was still good. We hope it will stay like that."
On the ultrasonic side, few masks and barrier gestures
Because who says back to the Park, says barrier measures: wearing a mask and especially social distancing between supporters. Measures very well applied overall, except on the ultrasonic side, as Alan explains. "On our side, there was a minimum of two gap seats. But at the ultrasonic level there was not necessarily any." Leo adds: "In the stadium there were lots of empty seats, I think they could have distributed them better. For health security, they could have done better." Following several calls to order during the first part of the match, the supporters concerned ended up respecting health instructions.
Paul Goze, president of the National Rugby League (NRL), sent a letter to the Minister for Sports, Roxana Maracineanu, to express his anger and concern on Saturday, according to information from L'Equipe . He fears that the behavior deemed "irresponsible" of certain supporters could penalize the takeover of other sports clubs, including those of rugby.
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Arm in arm despite the prevention messages broadcast within the stadium, the Parisians did not show the example. Perhaps the only downside of a successful evening for PSG, both on the field and in the stands.