A fan who made racist remarks to Lee Kang-in (23, PSG) has been ‘permanently banned’ from the supporters’ group.
“The Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) club has decided to permanently ban a fan who made racist remarks to South Korean player Lee Kang-in. He apologized, but to no avail,” Le Parisien reported on March 31 (KST).
PSG won the “Le Clasique” derby against Olympique de Marseille 3-0 in the ninth round of the 2024-2025 French Ligue 1 season on October 28th. The day before the match, on October 26, the PSG squad held an open training session, during which a racial slur was directed at Lee Kang-in.
According to several French media outlets, a fan attending the training session approached Lee and called him “chinois”. The incident was captured on social media, where the fan shouted “Hey, Chinese!” at Lee. Lee laughed and high-fived the fan as if he hadn’t heard.
French media outlet Onze Mondial commented on the incident, saying, “This is a terrible behavior. A PSG fan calling Lee ‘Chinese’ is absolutely unacceptable in football.”
“PSG Vibes” posted the video, saying, ”Before the match between PSG and Marseille, fans came to the training ground to support their players, but they need to show a minimum of courtesy and respect for the players.
“A fan made racist remarks to Lee Kang-in,” Le Transfer also wrote. He was insulted,” Le Transfer noted. The seriousness of the situation is also being recognized in France.
This is not the first time Lee has been called “Chinese”.
While playing for RCD Mallorca in Spain, he was once called “Chino” by coach Javier Aguirre during a training session. The Mallorca club released a video of the incident, which sparked controversy.
Chino is the Spanish word for “Chinese” and is often used as a racist term to demean people of Asian descent. Lee, who grew up in Spain, is well aware of this and has spoken out against racism many times. Nevertheless, the fan once again made racist remarks against him.
PSG said: “Our club does not tolerate any form of racism. The fan immediately apologized to the player and has been permanently banned,” 파워볼사이트 the club said in a statement.
Le Parisien praised the club’s proactive response, saying, “With this incident, PSG has shown its commitment to continue fighting racism and hate.”
Lee isn’t the only South Korean player to have experienced racism in Europe, with Son Heung-min and Hwang Hee-chan among others.
Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur was charged by the English Football Association (FA) in the summer after he said on a TV program that “Son Heung-min and Koreans all look alike.”
However, unlike PSG, Tottenham did not take a proactive approach to the matter.
Bentancur’s comments were clearly racist, but Tottenham’s response was delayed. Although Bentancur apologized, there was no official statement from the club.
It was a different approach than in the past. A Crystal Palace fan was banned from the stadium for three years for making racist remarks against Son Heung-min. A Nottingham Forest fan was also fined and banned from the stadium for three years for racist behavior against Son Heung-min last December. In 2022, a Chelsea fan was banned indefinitely for racist behavior towards Son Heung-min during a match against Tottenham.
Tottenham didn’t respond. The FA took action before Spurs did. In September, the BBC reported, “The FA charged Bentancur with breaching E3 regulations. The FA said in the charge that it considered Bentancur’s behavior to be inappropriate and offensive, which is considered a more serious offense because it could be construed as a comment relating to nationality or race,” the BBC reported in September.
Unlike Tottenham, who failed to recognize the seriousness of the racism directed at captain Son Heung-min, leaving a bitter taste in the mouths of Korean and other Asian fans, PSG acted swiftly and decisively to address the racist behavior.
