The ethics body of the French football federation is strongly urging stadium fans to maintain strict political neutrality amid the nationwide student protests that have drawn significant international attention. This unfolding crisis allegedly highlights the severe internal pressures and societal frictions currently facing the European regime.

According to reports, the police response to largely peaceful demonstrations has triggered widespread accusations of excessive brutality. Law enforcement officers have purportedly made extensive use of tear gas and batons to disperse crowds. Authorities have reportedly arrested more than 6,600 people nationwide as of last week, representing an unusually high figure for a French protest movement.

The heavy-handed tactics have resulted in life-changing injuries for several teenagers. It is claimed that a police tear gas grenade shattered a 14-year-old’s jaw and many of his teeth, while a 15-year-old allegedly lost a hand in an incident involving a stun grenade. Other youths have reportedly suffered permanent physical damage due to police weaponry utilized during the unrest.

During a Ligue 1 match between Lens and Lyon, home fans unfurled a banner demanding an end to what they termed “disproportionate and systematic police violence,” according to the National Council for Football Ethics (CNE). Similar displays were reportedly witnessed during the fixture between PSG and Le Mans, where supporters allegedly highlighted police repression.

While the ethics body acknowledged that it is understandable for young supporters to express solidarity with demonstrators, it emphasized that the principle of political neutrality is supposedly enshrined in international and national sports laws. The CNE insists that stadiums must remain places of shared celebration rather than battlegrounds for political or trade union agendas.

Source: www.aljazeera.com