Europe 1 with AFP 12:49 p.m., October 14, 2021

From now on, no Ligue 1, Ligue 2, Coupe de France and Champions Trophy matches will be played on May 5 in France. Parliament has just definitively adopted a law to this effect in order to pay tribute to the victims of the Furiani tragedy. In 1992, the collapse of a stand before the kickoff of the Coupe de France semi-final left 19 people dead.

The Parliament definitively adopted Thursday, by a vote of the Senate, a bill which provides that no professional football match will be played on May 5 in France, in tribute to the victims of the Furiani stadium disaster, which had 19 dead on May 5, 1992. The Senate voted by show of hands, without modifications, the text carried by the Corsican deputy Michel Castellani (Liberties and territories), which the National Assembly adopted in February 2020.

19 dead, more than 2,300 injured

The bill was placed on the agenda of the Senate as part of a parliamentary "niche" reserved for the environmental group, which includes the senator from Haute-Corse, Paul Toussaint Parigi.

On May 5, 1992, before the kickoff of the Coupe de France semi-final between Bastia and Olympique de Marseille, the collapse of the upper part of a temporary stand at the Furiani stadium had caused the death of 19 people and more than 2,300 injured.

Supported by the government, the bill plans to modify the sports code so that "no match or sporting event" in Ligue 1, Ligue 2, Coupe de France and the Champions Trophy is played on May 5.

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The Furiani disaster

A minute of silence for amateur football

For amateur football, the text provides for the organization of a minute of silence and the wearing of a black armband on May 5.

The Minister in charge of the City Nadia Hai specified that the text does not include sanctions, because the Ministry of Sports "works with the football authorities" so that the freezing of matches is respected.

The vote in Parliament responds to the request of the collective of victims and their families, represented in the galleries of the Senate, in the face of the reluctance of the League and the Federation.

Senators regretted the absence from the government bench of Minister Roxana Maracineanu, traveling alongside President Emmanuel Macron, said Nadia Hai.