The head of French football said Tuesday that he had told referees to no longer stop matches for homophobic abuse from fans, a stance France's sports minister said was "wrong".
Speaking to France Info, president of the French Football Federation (FFF) Noel Le Graet said that stopping matches for anti-gay chants and banners in the stands was "a mistake", and that he "hopes" his decision will take effect from this weekend's games.
"I would stop a match for racist chants. I would stop a match for fighting or if there were a dangerous situation in the stands," Le Graet said.
But racism and homophobia "are not the same thing", he insisted, adding that it should be down to the clubs to stop those responsible from getting into stadiums.
"The clubs' security services have to check the people who go to games, there is security there to ensure that banners disappear quickly."
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