La Marseillaise to be played before Premier League games

m@cc@

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/34872166

La Marseillaise to be played before Premier League games


The French national anthem - La Marseillaise - will be played before this weekend's Premier League matches.

A choral version will be played after the coin toss, with players from both teams coming together with match officials in the centre circle.

Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore described it as an act of "solidarity and remembrance" after the Paris attacks in which 129 people died.

La Marseillaise was sung before England's win over France on Tuesday.

There are 72 French players currently in the Premier League.

"Given how close we are, as well as the long-standing relationship that exists between the Premier League and France, playing La Marseillaise as an act of solidarity and remembrance is the right thing to do," said Scudamore.

Chelsea have announced their players will wear black armbands incorporating the French flag during their home game with Norwich City on Saturday (15:00 BST).

The Premier League has briefed each club on the current threat alert, which remains unchanged.

Starting to border on insincere and tacky, no?

Dozen Wicked Words

m@cc@ wrote: »

Starting to border on insincere and tacky, no?

Most things the Premier League do, well and truly cross the border into insincere and tacky.

StringerBell

I would be against this.

Polo_Mint

I dont find it insincere or tacky.

m@cc@

Dozen Wicked Words wrote: »

Most things the Premier League do, well and truly cross the border into insincere and tacky.

I guess the Nigerian national anthem will get played in the Championship.

Francie Barrett

The following week can we sing the Russian anthem in remembrance of the people killed by Isis on the plane crash? The next week we can do the Lebanon anthem for those killed by ISIS in Beirut.

Of course, we don't need to worry about Russians or Lebanese - they aren't as important as our sophisticated Parisian friends.

RobertKK

As the first round of matches in the PL since the attacks, and given most matches will have French players, I don't see the problem.
There was a planned attack on the game in Paris, thankfully they didn't get to enter the stadium but it was an attack on France and the EU, and if you look at your passport, we are all citizens of the EU (if you were born in or hold citizenship of a country in the EU).

It is not going to be for every match going forward, so don't see the problem.

m@cc@

RobertKK wrote: »

As the first round of matches in the PL since the attacks, and given most matches will have French players, I don't see the problem.
There was a planned attack on the game in Paris, thankfully they didn't get to enter the stadium but it was an attack on France and the EU, and if you look at your passport, we are all citizens of the EU (if you were born in or hold citizenship of a country in the EU).

It is not going to be for every match going forward, so don't see the problem.

Above all else, I am a citizen of the world. What has a passport got to do with anything?

The_Kew_Tour

Ott

Polo_Mint

Francie Barrett wrote: »

The following week can we sing the Russian anthem in remembrance of the people killed by Isis on the plane crash? The next week we can do the Lebanon anthem for those killed by ISIS in Beirut.

Of course, we don't need to worry about Russians or Lebanese - they aren't as important as our sophisticated Parisian friends.

You keep saying we? Are you English?

These are English Clubs in a Country that has a very close bond with France going back decades and also has the same if not more of a Terrorist Threat.

They are showing Solidarity. I still dont see the issue.

StringerBell

Why not show solidarity for all nations who are affected?

It smacks of a pr exercise to be honest.

Corholio

The cynical person in me sees the fact the response the match against France got during the week with the solidarity aspect of it and decided to have this to build on that. I'd be against doing things like this, where does 'solidarity' end? The match during the week was respectable and appropriate, it should have been left at that.

martyos121

Ah no, this is a bit much.

Get rid of the feckin handshake too, you're going to (non-contact) war with the other team, not laughing and joking with them! No wonder the league is going downhill.

Polo_Mint

StringerBell wrote: »

Why not show solidarity for all nations who are affected?

It smacks of a pr exercise to be honest.

Because the English can choose what they want to do.

Why did the Convention Center in Dublin light up in the French Flag and not the Russian?

I guess that was a PR exercise by the Irish

m@cc@

Corholio wrote: »

The cynical person in me sees the fact the response the match against France got during the week with the solidarity aspect of it and decided to have this to build on that. I'd be against doing things like this, where does 'solidarity' end? The match during the week was respectable and appropriate, it should have been left at that.

I mean, if they REALLY wanted to show 'solidarity', why don't they do something of substance and donate a proportion of Saturday's gate receipts to the French Red Cross?

greendom

Francie Barrett wrote: »

The following week can we sing the Russian anthem in remembrance of the people killed by Isis on the plane crash? The next week we can do the Lebanon anthem for those killed by ISIS in Beirut.

Of course, we don't need to worry about Russians or Lebanese - they aren't as important as our sophisticated Parisian friends.

That last bit of the last sentence was unnecessary. About as unnecessary as playing the Marseillaise anywhere in the UK this weekend. Except perhaps any rugby matches involving French sides

StringerBell

Polo_Mint wrote: »

Because the English can choose what they want to do.

Why did the Convention Center in Dublin light up in the French Flag and not the Russian?

I guess that was a PR exercise by the Irish

You're probably right.

Or, because the Irish/English don't care about the dead in Russia/Nigeria/Lebanon/China etc I suppose.

It was the cool thing to do at the time though wasn't it. #prayforparis ad all that

I don't think sport and politics should mix tbh. The other night given the circumstances was touching, a nice gesture. It shouldn't go any further then that imo.

Harry Palmr

A bit much, for all the connections between the two.

Shanotheslayer

martyos121 wrote: »

Ah no, this is a bit much.

Get rid of the feckin handshake too, you're going to (non-contact) war with the other team, not laughing and joking with them! No wonder the league is going downhill.

You should watch more football, they do that in every league. Clearly not the reason the league is going ''Downhill''

Stupid post.

RayCon

This is a Premier League brand exercise - note it's not all Leagues.

martyos121

Shanotheslayer wrote: »

You should watch more football, they do that in every league. Clearly not the reason the league is going ''Downhill''

Stupid post.

Every league doesn't have a ridiculous soundtrack to go with the handshake though. Everything about the PL is over the top, and football seems to be an afterthought. They'd rather go out of their way to commemorate a Western tragedy (not the objective of a football league) rather than improve the standard of football which has been drastically slipping in the last few years. And I watch more than enough football thank you, not that it's any of your business or your place to say otherwise.

Glad you wrote that last part too. Shows what kind of person you are.

OnTheCouch

As soon as I heard of this, the whole idea instinctively felt a bit off. Not appopriate or something. An unavoidable gut feeling that the English FA was killing the goose that laid the golden eggs.

Now I was as impressed as anyone by what took place at Wembley two days ago. The FA rightly took many plaudits from commentators all over the world, not least the French. If I were French myself, I would have felt genuinely moved at the efforts that were put into place to foster a spirit of solidarity after the awful events of last Friday. This probably ensured that the English, after what has been let us say a chequered history with their own nation, were seen in a completely different light by many French people.

And now this. Of course the sentiment is hardly negative. But it seems, after Wembley, superfluous, ostentatious, gaudy even. As if the FA saw the huge positive public reaction after Tuesday and thought "let's cash in when the going's good." Try and ride the gravy train of goodwill coming their way when it's still fresh in the mind.

I believe like many others, that a minute's silence would have been more than appopriate. No one should take what happened in Paris lightly and we have a duty to try and not only respect the memory of those who tragically died but try to take lessons in where we can improve in the future. If this means more security at football matches then so be it.

I realise also that a tragedy in France hits home harder than something similar in Egypt/Lebanon for Western Europeans. That's not particularly objectively fair, but it is human nature. What the excess commemoration involving all things French will end up doing is further aggrieve those who wonder why their own tragedies do not warrant similar "fanfare" in the popular media.

My overriding opinion is that the FA has shot itself in the foot here and will end up losing some of the well-deserved credit that came their way after Tuesday.

Dozen Wicked Words

^English FA don't run the Premier League.

RobertKK

m@cc@ wrote: »

Above all else, I am a citizen of the world. What has a passport got to do with anything?

A citizen of the world? It means nothing, try entering a country and say to the people on border controls 'I am a citizen of the world. What has a passport got to do with anything?'.

Shanotheslayer

martyos121 wrote: »

Every league doesn't have a ridiculous soundtrack to go with the handshake though. Everything about the PL is over the top, and football seems to be an afterthought. They'd rather go out of their way to commemorate a Western tragedy (not the objective of a football league) rather than improve the standard of football which has been drastically slipping in the last few years. And I watch more than enough football thank you, not that it's any of your business or your place to say otherwise.

Glad you wrote that last part too. Shows what kind of person you are.

I'm the person who'll call a stupid post stupid.

You blatantly just said the reason was because of a handshake in your first post, which was clearly a stupid post. You didn't elaborate any further.

Beefy78

Dozen Wicked Words wrote: »

^English FA don't run the Premier League.

Yeah it is nothing to do with the FA.

I don't like it. A minutes silence/applause I can see. I don't like this. As an English person I was moved by the scenes at Wembley the other night but I'm about ready to go back to pretending to hate the French. That's how to defeat the terrorists anyway - go back to living your life and not letting the ****ers change you.

MD1990

In one way its a good thing. In another it looks like the PL want to outdo other leagues & have the best show of support.

OnTheCouch

Dozen Wicked Words wrote: »

^English FA don't run the Premier League.

Yes fair point and it was something that I overlooked.

However, they are still closely linked and would collaborate together on many issues, including something as sensitive as this.

Richard Hillman

It stinks of PR. A commemoration 9 days after the attacks should be subtle but with class. This is for the Facebook likes.

Beefy78

Richard Hillman wrote: »

It stinks of PR. A commemoration 9 days after the attacks should be subtle but with class. This is for the Facebook likes.

Putting the other view point for a second (because I just thought of it) I think France contributes the most players to the Premier League of any nationality other than England. There are 36 French players in the English top flight which is more than there are Scots or Irish.

It isn't just any other country.

I don't know... I think it is worth pointing out.

monkey9

No, this is way OTT. A minute's silence is enough. It would be weird standing there as the French national anthem rings out.

martyos121

The worst part about it for me is the way they are choosing to commemorate it. Something more subtle like players wearing a tricolore armband would be more appropriate and not so cheesy, and that's only if there is an absolute need to commemorate it in the PL at all, which I don't think there is. Mixing sport and current affairs can have negative consequences, and in this case it's insensitive to those killed in Beirut.

RobertKK

Matches taking place in England will also have beefed up security, playing the French national anthem is like an act of defiance.

StringerBell

RobertKK wrote: »

Matches taking place in England will also have beefed up security, playing the French national anthem is like an act of defiance.

Why just play the French one though in that case? Will the Lebanese one be at half time etc? What makes the French more worthy of a show of solidarity then any other nation that has suffered a terrorist attack?

major bill

Load of tripe

over doing it at this stage. have a minutes silence and leave it at that.

BMJD

Might as well have a 3 hour concert before every match featuring every anthem ever. We should get an extended version, 800 years and all that.

Kerrigooney

Absolutely ridiculous idea.

Beefy78

StringerBell wrote: »

Why just play the French one though in that case? Will the Lebanese one be at half time etc? What makes the French more worthy of a show of solidarity then any other nation that has suffered a terrorist attack?

A number of reasons which I suspect you know very well.

Jayop

StringerBell wrote: »

Why just play the French one though in that case? Will the Lebanese one be at half time etc? What makes the French more worthy of a show of solidarity then any other nation that has suffered a terrorist attack?

I absolutely hate posts like this. "why only care about one tragedy and not x,y,z other tragedies?". It was the same on FB last week after the Paris attacks with all the "why is no-one talking about......" posts. Only, there was so many of them that they numbered almost as many on my timeline as posts about Paris.

England and France have a history going back hundreds of years, they fought against each other for centuries and fought together in two world wars. They have a much closer bond than England and say Russia or Lebanon. It's nothing to do with skin colour or religion, it's to do with the proximity and relations between the two states. Also, as has been mentioned, the French have played a key role in the history of the premier league with several of the most high profile players hailing from there.

Pure whataboutery nonsense.



Now, as for the gesture itself, I think it's OTT.

Sand

Francie Barrett wrote: »

The following week can we sing the Russian anthem in remembrance of the people killed by Isis on the plane crash? The next week we can do the Lebanon anthem for those killed by ISIS in Beirut.

Of course, we don't need to worry about Russians or Lebanese - they aren't as important as our sophisticated Parisian friends.

Polo_Mint wrote: »

Because the English can choose what they want to do.

Why did the Convention Center in Dublin light up in the French Flag and not the Russian?

I guess that was a PR exercise by the Irish

StringerBell wrote: »

You're probably right.

Or, because the Irish/English don't care about the dead in Russia/Nigeria/Lebanon/China etc I suppose.

It was the cool thing to do at the time though wasn't it. #prayforparis ad all that

I don't think sport and politics should mix tbh. The other night given the circumstances was touching, a nice gesture. It shouldn't go any further then that imo.

Sports and politics did mix tbh. Terrorists attacked a stadium where people were playing or watching a game of football. Football didn't invite the attack, but it is hardly surprising football is responding by acknowledging that the attack happened.

The Convention Center in Dublin lit up because it was an almost spontaneous act of sympathy and solidarity - it was immediately obvious what had happened in Paris, which lent itself to spontaneous acts which are open to cynical derision later. That was not the case when it came to the Russian plane bombing which for several days was thought to be some sort of mechanical or human error with officials strictly denying that the plane could be taken down by terrorists.

And frankly the French and the British are fellow partners in the EU. They are fellow members in NATO. They are close neighbours with many British and French living or working in France or Britain respectively. They were and are close allies for more than 100 years where their soldiers have often fought and died in the same foxholes.

Russia and Lebanon sadly or otherwise, simply are not members of the EU or NATO (Russia in particular is overtly hostile to the EU and NATO). Russia and Lebanon are not close neighbours of the UK, and both nations have more often been hostile to the UK in the last hundred years than friendly. Of course people will feel more affected by attacks on people they feel close to than people they do not. This guilt tripping does not make any sense. I can guarantee you there are people in China who have not even heard of the attacks in Paris, let alone feel bothered by them. It is not because they are evil or unfeeling people. It is because they are on the other side of the world and don't feel the same links that the British and the French feel.

I might agree the PL is engaging in some "me too" grandstanding, but even if they are (which is unproven) I think its "me too" cynicism to denounce any marking by a football organisation of the attacks on a football game.

RobertKK

StringerBell wrote: »

Why just play the French one though in that case? Will the Lebanese one be at half time etc? What makes the French more worthy of a show of solidarity then any other nation that has suffered a terrorist attack?

Most people like the French national anthem... :P

Utopia Parkway

Nothing wrong with it during the England game during the week. Not sure why but this just seems a bit much and like the Premier League is trying to get on the bandwagon a bit.

Mr.Nice Guy

This comes across to me as being more of a backslapping exercise for the Premier League than about consideration for people caught up in the attack.

If the Premier League want to do something positive, how about donate some money to the businesses that were attacked; or perhaps offer free tickets to games for those caught up in the violence, the families of the bereaved, etc.

That would be a lot more meaningful than playing the anthem which feels like a cyncial stunt to try and impress the rest of the world.

m@cc@

RobertKK wrote: »

A citizen of the world? It means nothing, try entering a country and say to the people on border controls 'I am a citizen of the world. What has a passport got to do with anything?'.

Are you going to explain the relvance of a passport to this discussion or continue with your drivel?

Fr Tod Umptious

I really don't get the anger towards the Premiership here and what they are doing.

It's almost as if people are against it cos its an excuse to have a go at thr "big bad evil money grabbing Premiership"

As other posters have said France and England are very close on a whole range of things and have been in some shape or form for hundreds of years, its only right that the main sports event in England mark what happened.

RedemptionZ

If people can't see how the Paris attacks are more relevant to England than Russian or Nigerian tragedies then they're being purposefully obtuse.

That said I'm not sure this is the best way of showing solidarity. Money would probably make more of a difference. Maybe I'm being too cynical there.

Optimalprimerib

Stinks of a what happens next will give you goosebumps sports bible opportunity. It is also prioritising one country over many that are affected by isis. A moments clapping would be more appropriate.

RobertKK

RobertKK wrote: »

it was an attack on France and the EU, and if you look at your passport, we are all citizens of the EU (if you were born in or hold citizenship of a country in the EU).

I don't think it's an EU thing anyway, as they didn't play the anthems of Norway or Spain after Breiviks slaughter, after the Madrid bombing etc.

It may be proximity. But think it's more likely tacky slacktivism and being seen to do the right thing.

CSF

The gesture on Tuesday was lovely because the French were going over, their first match since that awful awful night. A real display of comradery between the 2 nations after it had seemed the match would be called off because of what happened.

This just seems unnecessary and overkill. I'd have said the same if it was England v Croatia or Norway on Tuesday night too. It was the circumstances that made Tuesday feel so genuine and heartfelt.

SantryRed

EPL seen the reaction world wide of the solidarity shown on Tuesday and now they want to get on board with that. I actually see it as disrespectful to the dead. It's a PR stunt. I'd agree with a small gesture but this is OTT, and is for brand exposure more than anything.

citytillidie

Fr Tod Umptious wrote: »

I really don't get the anger towards the Premiership here and what they are doing.

It's almost as if people are against it cos its an excuse to have a go at thr "big bad evil money grabbing Premiership"

As other posters have said France and England are very close on a whole range of things and have been in some shape or form for hundreds of years, its only right that the main sports event in England mark what happened.

What is the Premiership? There is no such thing anymore :P

No but this is just a big PR thing done by the heads of the Premier League to say look at us aren't we good doing this for France.