The tension was too much. The Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, on Tuesday banned the travel of supporters of Olympique Lyonnais to Marseille for the match against OM, rescheduled for Wednesday December 6 after the stones of the buses of Lyon players and fans, on October 29. Previously, the Bouches-du-Rhône prefecture had already banned the arrival of OL fans.
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In the decree published in Official newspaperthis travel ban is justified by a “real and serious risk of clashes between supporters of the two clubs”. On October 29, this Ligue 1 match was canceled due to the stones of the buses of Lyon players and OL supporters en route to the Stade-Vélodrome. Fabio Grosso, who was OL’s coach and has since been fired due to the club’s poor results, was injured in the face by shards of glass.
The order of the Minister of the Interior also emphasizes that, on that day, “Nazi salutes as well as racist and homophobic remarks were observed among Lyon supporters, themselves insulted in the stands by their Marseille counterparts”. “Under these conditions, a real and serious risk of clashes between supporters of the two clubs exists during the football match between the two teams”, concludes the decree. After the incidents of October 29, several investigations were opened by the Marseille prosecutor’s office.
“We can’t continue like this in football”
This travel ban also comes three days after the death, Saturday in Nantes, of a Nantes supporter. He was stabbed during a scuffle between fans of FC Nantes, OGC Nice and VTC drivers who were transporting the latter. Two drivers were indicted on Monday, including one for intentional homicide.
Read also: Death of a Nantes supporter during an altercation before the football match against Nice
Monday, on France Inter, the Minister of Sports, Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, considered that it was preferable “to stop on the movement of supporters” in the event of a risky match. “We can’t continue like this in football”, she said. The same day, the president of the Professional Football League, Vincent Labrune, said, on RMC Sport, “totally in support of the words of the Minister of Sports”.
Read also: Supporter killed in Nantes: a VTC driver indicted for intentional homicide