NEW DELHI: In a bizarre incident, some Tunisian fans whistled at the French national anthem before the start of the Tunisia-France FIFA World Cup game at the Education City stadium in in Al Rayyan, Qatar on Wednesday.
This was not the first time Tunisian supporters did it as they had done the same in 2008 at "La Marseillaise" ahead of a friendly game against France.
It led to an angry reaction from then French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who summoned the French Football Federation to a meeting and demanded no more matches on French soil against the national teams of former colonies from North Africa.
It was effectively the last game on home soil for France against Algeria, Morocco or Tunisia.
Tunisia is a former French colony which gained independence in 1956. More than 700,000 Tunisians live in France, with about two thirds of them being dual nationals.
In 2001, Algeria fans jeered at the French anthem before a friendly game between the Maghreb side and France, who were leading 4-1 when supporters ran onto the pitch with about 15 left before the game was abandoned.
(With inputs from Agencies)
