CLAIREFONTAINE, France, May 28 - Several France players, starting with
Thierry Henry, criticised the Paris crowd for booing their team in Saturday's
1-0 win over Mexico in a World Cup warm-up.
"We're starting to wonder whether the Paris fans really want us to win
games," said Arsenal striker Henry, who was a substitute at Stade de France and
stayed on the bench.
Zinedine Zidane, who will retire after the World Cup and was playing his last
match on the pitch where he scored twice in France's 3-0 defeat of Brazil in the
1998 World Cup final, was cheered every time he had the ball but others were not
so lucky.
The fans booed coach Raymond Domenech and goalkeeper Fabien Barthez during
the team announcement and there were whistles for midfielder Vikash Dhorasoo
when he came on for Zidane.
"You would never see that in England," said Henry. "Even when we're losing at
Highbury, the fans keep cheering and supporting us.
"Fabien (Barthez) received a yellow card at one stage and you had the
impression that it made the fans happy."
Liverpool forward Djibril Cisse was also surprised by the hostile reaction
from the fans.
"I can't believe it", he said. "In England such a thing would be unthinkable.
Maybe it's just a cultural thing but it is a problem."
FED UP
Defender Willy Sagnol also had tough words for the crowd's behaviour.
"I'm fed up with it," he said. "It's been going on for a while. The fans have
got to understand that when they boo the goalkeeper or another player, they make
life difficult for all of us on the pitch."
The France team get plenty of support when they play in Marseille, Lens or St
Etienne but have often had problems at Stade de France, which was built for the
1998 World Cup finals and was inaugurated in January that year.
"In other cities the people who come to see us are club supporters who come
to support France and they're great," said Sagnol.
"In Paris, you get the impression that the people in the stands do not come
to support the team but to watch a show."
Even during the 1998 World Cup-winning campaign, the France players had
criticised the spectators at Stade de France, saying they were not genuine
soccer fans and not loud enough.
"I think it has gone too far," said Sagnol. "Maybe the solution would be for
us to stop playing in Paris.
"If it were up to me, we would play all our games at St Etienne. You're
always going to get support down there."
