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Anti-Semitic Attacks Lead to Death of Soccer Fan in France

What started off as a regular football match between Paris Saint Germain (PSG) and Israeli soccer club, Hapoel Tel Aviv ended with anti-Semitic chants, hooliganism and the death of one PSG fan. French president, Jacques Chirac expressed his horror at the levels of racism and anti-Jewish sentiments which came to an ugly head after PSG lost the game to Hapoel, and strongly condemned the violence of soccer fans.

After PSG lost their match to Hapoel, 4-2, angry fans poured out of the stadium. At one point, they surrounded a group of Hapoel fans and started a tirade of anti-Semitic verbal attacks. As tension mounted in the dispute between fans, a plain-clothed policeman came to Hapoel fans? rescue and demanded that the PSG hooligans disperse. When they refused and began to close in on the policeman, he fired tear gas and then live ammunition twice. His shots killed one PSG fan and wounded another.

Authorities are now trying to determine whether the policeman, Antoine Gronomort, should face criminal charges or whether he was acting in his line of duty by trying to protect the Israeli fans from mortal danger. The attacks have shocked the French population who are trying to understand why such vicious racism and anti-Semitism rears its ugly head each time their country. Paris? mayor has called for urgent action to stamp out soccer violence and racism.