French minister: Paris Saint-Germain soccer team may face sanctions over fans’ ‘unacceptable’ ‘Free Palestine’ banner

French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau criticizes the unveiling of a giant “Free Palestine” banner at a Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) soccer match, saying it was “unacceptable.”

Asked if he would seek sanctions against PSG, Retailleau tells Sud Radio: “I am not ruling out anything. I will demand explanations from PSG.”

Yesterday, fans from the soccer club unveiled a giant “Free Palestine” banner before the kickoff of their Champions League game against Atletico Madrid, eight days before France takes on Israel in Paris in a Nations League game.

The banner, which draped an entire, floor-to-ceiling section of the audience, showed the Dome of the Rock — a focus of Palestinian imagery, and part of the religious site after which the Hamas terror group named its October 7, 2023, onslaught against Israel.

The banner also featured a torn Palestinian flag with red splotches, and a child wearing a shirt with imagery from the flag of Lebanon, where Israel is fighting the Hezbollah terror group.

In addition, the letter “i” in “Free Palestine” was a depiction of a map that included the entire territory of the State of Israel along with the West Bank and Gaza Strip colored in the pattern of the Palestinian keffiyeh.

“War on the pitch, but peace in the world,” a message underneath said.

During the match, fans unrolled another message that read: “Does a child’s life in Gaza mean less than another?”

PSG — which is majority-owned by the Qatari government — said it had not been aware “of any plans to display such a message.”