PARIS, October 31, 2006  –  A campaign which will show a “red card” to homophobia in French football is to be launched on Sunday (November 5) at the Parc de Prince stadium in Paris.

As a curtain-raiser to the French division 1 match between Paris Saint-Germain (PS-G) and RC Lens, the gay Paris football team Paris Foot Gay will take-on Foot Citoyen, a team chaired by veteran French sports reporter and broadcaster Didier Roustan, to launch Carton Rouge à l'Homophobie (Red Card To Homophobia).

“The time has come to make people’s attitude change,” said a spokesman for Paris Foot Gay.  “Homophobic insults can be heard in stadiums – and must stop.

“Gay football players, whether professional or amateur, should be able to live without hiding themselves, or lying to others. They should not be afraid of being despised, insulted or, worse, rejected.”

The Carton Rouge à l'Homophobie project aims at making everyone in French football sensitive to homophobia, and at gaining a commitment from the French football authorities to stamp out homophobia in the sport by openly and systematically condemning this discrimination, as UEFA and the Football Association in England already does – at least on paper.

Paris Saint-Germain, which hosted Paris Foot Gay’s match against the PS-G’s “former stars” in October 2005 prior to a league game, has given carte blanche to fashion designer Agnès b., Paris Foot Gay’s main sponsor and patron of the operation.

Postcards, thought up by the designer and bearing the message of the evening, will be handed out to the spectators, as well as Carton Rouge à l'Homophobie badges.

Two amateur football clubs from the French Federation of Football, Entente Montrabe Beaupuy (in the South of France) and FC Chooz (in the North of France), have also joined Paris Foot Gay and committed themselves to wear the Carton Rouge à l'Homophobie logo on their jerseys.

Foot Citoyen, which concentrates on youth, is widely backed by French football personalities , including Arsène Wengner and Thierry Henry of London Premiership club Arsenal.

■  Tickets for the PS-G vs RC Lens match, including Paris Foot Gay curtain-raiser match, start at €22.  For full information and booking see PS-G website (French only). Gates are open at 5.30pm and the PS-G match kicks off at 9pm.

SEE ALSO

Gay Football Club in Limelight at Top French League Match.  A gay French football (soccer) team will step into the sporting limelight on Saturday (October 22) when it plays an exhibition match against former stars of one of the country’s top clubs, Paris Saint-Germain.  (UK Gay News, October 19, 2005)

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