CHAIRMAN: DR. KHALID BIN THANI AL THANI
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: PROF. KHALID MUBARAK AL-SHAFI

Sports / Football

PSG fans are too 'well-behaved': Al Khelaifi

Published: 19 Dec 2015 - 01:10 pm | Last Updated: 07 Nov 2021 - 12:56 pm
Peninsula

Nasser Al-Khelaifi, Qatari chairperson of the French Ligue 1 football club Paris Saint-Germain, removes his scarf as he arrives for the French League Cup football match between Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Saint-Etienne (ASSE) at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris on December 15, 2015.

 

Paris: Owner Nasser Al-Khelaifi has hit out at Paris Saint-Germain's fans for being too "well-behaved" in an interview published on Saturday.

Speaking to Le Figaro newspaper, the Qatari said he wants the club's supporters to make more noise in cheering on their dominant heroes at the Parc des Princes.

"We need more atmosphere in the stadium. Sometimes our fans are a bit too well-behaved," moaned Al-Khelaifi.

"We give our time, our heart, our passion for the fans. I'd like them to be constantly behind us, from the first minute to the last."

Before Al-Khelaifi took control of PSG in 2011, the Parisians had endured serious problems from violent hooligan groups that more often fought amongst themselves than with those ultras of rival teams.

Al-Khelaifi even supported the supporter pacification process begun in 2010 by his predecessor, aimed at rooting out the violent, but noisy, hooligan groups, a move which saw the Boulogne Boys and Tigris Mystic disbanded along with several other notorious groups.

In the interview, Al-Khelaifi also ruled out bringing in new faces during the January transfer window.

"Our team is very strong, therefore we won't need new players; we need every player (already) in this team, so we won't be selling anyone," he added.

Going into Saturday's trip to Caen, PSG are 17 points clear at the top of Ligue 1 and unbeaten in a club record-equalling 27 league matches.

The owner said he wanted to keep coach Laurent Blanc at the Parc and that he was looking to extend the former France boss' contract, suggesting he is not in the market to hire Jose Mourinho, who was sacked by Chelsea on Thursday.

However, Al-Khelaifi was less concrete on the future of star forward and record PSG goalscorer Zlatan Ibrahimovic, whose contract runs out at the end of the season.

"He puts his heart into this club. We'll discuss in February what he wants to do," said Al-Khelaifi of the 34-year-old Swede.

AFP