Paris Saint-Germain Takes Issue with M.I.A. 'Borders' Video in Official Letter

M.I.A., the rapper, has posted a copy of an official letter from Paris Saint-Germain on her Twitter account that appears to show the French football giant taking exception to the content of one of her video videos.

The four-page letter accuses M.I.A., real name Mathangi Abulpragasam, of having "unduly taken advantage from the considerable reputation of our club" by wearing a PSG shirt during the promo for "Borders", a protest song about the ongoing Syrian refugee crisis.

Towards the end of the video, Abulpragasam appears on camera wearing the official PSG jersey, with "Fly Emirates", the club's official shirt sponsor, changed to "Fly Pirates".

The letter, dated December 14, 2015, explains that the Paris Saint-Germain Foundation, the club's charitable enterprise, made a donation of one million euros on September 9, 2015, in aid of the refugee crisis.

"In light of the foregoing," it continues, "we consider that the use of our brand and image in a video clip denouncing the treatment of refugees is a source of discredit for our club and distorts its public communications policy."

PSG is owned by Qatar Sports Investments, the sovereign wealth arm of the Qatari state. In an interview with New Statesman from September 2015, Dr Khalid Al-Attiyah, the Qatari foreign minister, was forced to defend his country from allegations that the oil-rich nation had not accepted its fair share of refugees from the ongoing conflict in Syria.

Abulpragasam took to Twitter again having posted the letter, showing a still of her wearing the offending PSG shirt.

On Sunday, she appeared to suggest that PSG was attempting to have "Borders" taken down, Tweeting: "haaaa Someone's Trynu ban my video. Who does that?"

Newsweek has approached Abulpragasam and PSG for comment.