© EuroFootball.com
Some of the French national team players, including one of the team leaders Thierry Henry, criticized the Parisian fans after Saturday's friendly match against Mexico, which the French won 1-0, for booing some of the team members.
"We are starting to doubt whether the Parisian fans want us to win the game," said "Arsenal" forward T. Henry, who did not play in the match and watched it from the bench. "You would never see this in England. Even when we lose at "Highbury" stadium, the fans continue to chant and try to support us. There was one episode when Fabien (Barthez - ed. note) received a yellow card, and then you could see that the fans were cheering about it."
Zinedine Zidane, the team veteran who will end his career after the upcoming World Cup starting in June, played his last match on the field, where he scored two goals for France in the successful 1998 World Cup final against Brazil. Each time he had the ball, the stadium filled with joyous cheers, but other players were treated differently.
Fans booed coach Raymond Domenech and goalkeeper Fabien Barthez during the team presentation and whistled when Z. Zidane was replaced by Vikash Dhorasoo. Additionally, before the first goal, the spectators occasionally expressed their displeasure with the team's lackluster performance.
Liverpool striker Djibril Cisse was surprised by the fans' reaction: "I can't believe it. Something like this is unimaginable in England. Maybe it's a cultural issue, but it's becoming a problem nonetheless."
Defender Willy Sagnol also had strong words for the fans: "I'm fed up with this, it has been going on for a long time. Fans need to understand that when they boo the goalkeeper or another player, they make life difficult for all of us on the field. People coming to watch us in other cities are club supporters who come to cheer for France, and they are great. The impression is that in Paris, people gather in the stands not to support the team, but to see a show. I think it has gone too far, maybe the solution would be for us not to play in Paris anymore."
The French national team is usually well supported when playing in Marseille, Lens, or Saint-Etienne, but they often had problems at the Stade de France, which was built specifically for the 1998 World Cup and inaugurated in the same year. Even during the tournament, French players criticized the fans in the stadium and said they are not real football fans and are too quiet.
