What They're Saying: Patrick Vieira

• by Soccer America , Aug 29, 2019

“The referee was right to stop the match. These things are unacceptable. The message was clear, and the referee didn’t have a choice. He could have maybe given us a bit more time to go and see the supporters and to ask them to remove the banner. But he explained things to me that I fully understand. I hope that this won’t happen again, in Nice or in any stadium.”

-- Nice head coach Patrick Vieira after referee Clement Turpin stopped the Nice-Marseille derby in the first half for around 10 minutes and players left the field over homophobic banners displayed by Nice fans, who ignored requests to take them down. The French government has been working to crack down on anti-gay chants and displays at Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 matches. (Reuters)