British singer M.I.A. branded French football club PSG “arrogant” on Tuesday after it demanded she remove images of a modified version of the club’s shirt in the video for her latest single “Borders”, which deals with the refugee crisis.
The war of words erupted after the singer on Monday tweeted a copy of a legal letter she received from PSG’s deputy chief executive Jean-Claude Blanc in which he which he warned her she could face legal action if she did not remove the club’s shirt from the video and compensate the Qatar-ownedFrench league leaders for “harm suffered”.
In the video, M.I.A., real name Mathangi Arulpragasam, can be seen sporting the club’s white away shirt. The logo of the club’s sponsor, “Fly Emirates”, has been changed to “Fly Pirates”.
The video also shows images of migrants climbing fences and packed into boats in a commentary on the recent influx of people into Europe fleeing war and poverty.
“We consider that the use of our brand and image in a video clip denouncing the treatment of refugees is a source of discredit to our club and distorts its public communication policy,” Blanc’s letter reads.
“More than being surprised, we simply do not understand why we are associated, through our logo and the official jersey of our team’s players, to such denunciation [sic],” it says.
‘Extremely arrogant’
Speaking about the matter in depth for the first time, M.I.A. told UK magazine Noisey in an interview published Tuesday of her dismay at the club’s reaction.
“I just find it extremely arrogant that they are trying to police something like that,” she said.
She dismissed suggestions she had chosen the PSG shirt because of the club’s sponsorship by Qatar and United Arab Emirates – countries that have been criticised for their treatment of refugees and migrants.
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