CHERRIES’ French stars Sylvain Distin and Yann Kermorgant both said they had been moved and touched by a show of support for the events in Paris.

Premier League clubs united on Saturday as the French national anthem was played ahead of kick-off at all stadiums in tribute to the victims of the terror attacks.

Distin stood in a line on the pitch between Swansea’s Eder and Andre Ayew, while Kermorgant was in the dugout at the Liberty Stadium as both men sung La Marseillaise.

Neither Distin nor Kermorgant, together with Max Gradel, who also has family in France, were directly affected by the attacks but both knew of people who had been.

Distin, one of 22 French players involved in the Premier League on Saturday, told the Daily Echo: “For different reasons, I thought it was very emotional because of what happened in Paris.

“This is the first time I have been in a position to sing the national anthem before a game so it was a very touching gesture. It is good to see we can keep together in such difficult times and I think it is the best thing to do.

“I am from the outskirts of Paris and have family and friends over there. My first thought on Friday night was to make sure everybody was safe and I am very fortunate that everybody was.

“That was a good thing for me personally but it is still a very difficult and shocking time. Even if directly all my family and friends are safe, we still have friends of friends who were there and either lost someone or were injured so it is a very difficult moment.”

Kermorgant, who hails from Vannes in Brittany, said: “It is not often we play La Marseillaise before a game and even more when you know why we played it today. It was a terrible week and, of course, there was lots of emotion before the game.

“I was watching the France versus Germany game and was shocked when I found out what was happening. They didn’t mention the explosions straight away on the television and waited until the end of the game.

“We started to think something bad was happening. Myself and my wife started watching the news on television and it was a big shock because you don’t expect something like that to happen.

“You always know someone who knows someone who has been touched, either family or friends. What happened touched the whole population in France and wider.

“There has been a lot of solidarity in England for what happened in Paris and in Mali as well. The world is crazy at the moment and everybody needs to stick together.”

Cherries boss Eddie Howe added his thoughts when he said: “I thought it was a really special moment and it was nice to see the French players from both teams together.

“It has been a terrible incident, an episode which the whole world has felt and certainly we put our arms around them at this time.”