PSG Turns to Tennis Champion Yannick Noah for Peace and Calm

It has been a rough couple of month at Paris Saint-Germain after one of its supporters was shot to death by a policeman following a UEFA Cup match against Hapoel Tel Aviv in November. The club has shut down a couple sections of its terraces in an effort to diffuse tensions and to weed out some of its notorious far-right supporters. Today PSG announced that it has hired former tennis champion Yannick Noah to help bring calm to the stormy seas.

PSG coach Guy Lacombe was quoted as saying Friday in an interview with Le Parisien newspaper:

“He is a good person,” Lacombe said. “He has a certain vision. He has an external approach, in relation to the public, to certain players. He has things to offer.”

Apparently John McEnroe wasn’t available.

Noah’s future role is unclear and I’m not sure how one guy is supposed to diffuse a situation that has been brewing for years other than perhaps standing in the terraces and whacking racist chanting idiots with his tennis racket or leading them in a rendition of his hit song La Voix des Sages (No More Fighting). I wish him well though. I kind of dig his music even if I don’t speak a word of French.

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Category: French Ligue 1