Why ISIS attacked French football
JVL Introduction
On the 10th anniversary of the Bataclan massacre in Paris, Tony Karon has reposted extracts from three articles he wrote in the past, reflecting on the wider significance of that event, and of the political nature of football.
He reminds us of the huge symbolic significance in the initial choice of target – the Stade de France – where a friendly international football game was in progress.
It’s an appropriate reminder of that awful day, but also has added poignance in Britain after the weaponisation of football against Birmingham’s Muslim community in the build-up to the Maccabi Tel Aviv-Aston Villa game a week ago.
RK
This article was originally published by Tony Karon's blog on Thu 13 Nov 2025. Read the original here.
Why ISIS attacked French football
Some thoughts on the Battaclan massacre and what we learn from European football
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This is a very informative and important article. One point I wish to question however is the celebration of Toussaint L’Ouverture as the founder of the second free republic in the western hemisphere after the USA. He was more importantly an anti colonial liberator of enslaved Africans. This went far beyond the achievements for humanity and progress of the US republic which retained slavery.
Capitalist persecution is not limited to this, nor is it limited to immigrants. Even if you are far away, they will find ways to persecute you through the internet and high-tech means such as hacking. As long as they want to persecute you, they will find a way; this is the capability that capitalism and assets have given them. This is not primarily a cultural issue of race, ethnicity, etc.; it is primarily a class issue.