La Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) estcurrently shaken by a complaint for public homophobic insults targeting its president Vincent Labrune. The cause of this controversy is the dissemination on Instagram of an offensive chant sung by supporters of AS Saint-Étienne. This Friday, the association Stop Homophobie announced that it had filed a complaint in Paris against Vincent Labrune, in his capacity as director of publication of the LFP’s Instagram account. The complaint relates to a video posted last Saturday on this social network, promoting the match between AS Saint-Étienne and Olympique Lyonnais, in which the chant “Oh Lyonnais, bande de pédés” could be heard from the stands of the opposing team. The publication was quickly removed but had already caused outrage among many people. For Stop Homophobie, this is not just a minor incident: “This is a clear illustration of the normalization of homophobia in football,” denounced Étienne Deshoulières, lawyer for the association, via an AFP dispatch. According to the association, the chant was heard again during the following Sunday’s match without any intervention from the organizers, which reinforces the perception of laxity towards this type of behavior, regularly criticized by various associations. This is not the first time that chants from certain groups of AS Saint-Étienne supporters have caused controversy. Despite numerous awareness campaigns conducted by clubs, broadcasters and governing bodies, these excesses continue to occur. Amazon and DAZN, broadcasters of Ligue 1 matches, would have been alerted several times by militant associations without any visible effect according to Stop Homophobie. Asked by AFP, the LFP expressed its surprise at this complaint while recognizing that “the dissemination of this content was regrettable.” “As soon as the offensive remarks were identified, the video was removed,” a statement said. The League also wanted to recall its long-standing commitment against discrimination, stating that it had taken 202 sanctions for discriminatory acts during the 2022/2023 season. However, an internal source denounced “harassment” by certain associations “seeking publicity,” while recalling that the LFP is “almost the only sports body to really commit itself” in this fight. Nevertheless, the damage is done: this new controversy further weakens the position of the League and its president at a time when fighting homophobia in football remains a crucial issue. In theory, a match can be interrupted or even definitively stopped if homophobic chants are heard.