France’s sports minister mandates FIFA protocol for Marseille-PSG derby

France’s Sports Minister Marina Ferrari has drawn a line in the sand ahead of one of European football’s most volatile fixtures. In a letter to Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) president Vincent Labrune, Ferrari insisted the league enforce FIFA’s three-step protocol to combat homophobic chanting when Olympique de Marseille hosts Paris Saint-Germain on September 20, 2026. The directive was prompted by reports from Rouge Direct, a French anti-homophobia advocacy group, which flagged recurring discriminatory chants from OM supporters at the Stade Vélodrome. What the FIFA protocol actually looks like FIFA’s three-step procedure is the governing body’s graduated response system for discriminatory incidents during matches. Step one: the referee halts play and a public address announcement warns fans that discriminatory behavior must stop immediately. Step two: if the behavior continues, the referee suspends the match. Players leave the pitch, and both teams retreat to the dressing rooms. Step three: if the chanting persists after the match resumes, the referee abandons the game entirely. France’s Ligue 1 has invoked parts of it before, including during an OL-Rennes match where homop...