Le Figaro Nice
Rififi on the lawns of Nice.
Sunday January 21 afternoon, an amateur football match between CASE (club of the Compagnie Générale des Eaux de Nice) and Étoile de Menton, at the Hairabédian stadium, in the sensitive Ariane district, was interrupted at the 30th minute after around thirty hooded individuals entered the field to do battle with the Menton players.
In a press release published on Facebook the day after the meeting, Pierrette Gambarini, the president of Étoile de Menton, spoke of a gang armed
with “bats, knives and tasers invading the field in order to lynch us”
.
This is evidenced by several videos recorded at the time of the events.
Smoke bombs in hand, the attackers, dressed all in black, pursue the footballers and hit several of them.
The scene is astonishing.
Two players in particular were cornered against a fence and molested by at least four hooded men.
Smoke bombs are thrown onto the lawns and into the stands.
According to Eddy Laï, the president of CASE who also spoke in a press release, spectators were allegedly attacked.
The latter evokes a scene of
“chaos”
.
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Revenge
Quickly informed, the police arrived too late.
The pack disappeared from the grass as quickly as it had appeared.
No individual was then arrested.
Luckily, there were no serious injuries.
Only two players suffered from minor injuries.
They were treated on site by firefighters.
According to the president of CASE, some spectators were also burned by smoke bombs.
According to the latter,
“external revenge”
would be at the origin of this unexpected surge of savagery.
The perpetrators of the violence allegedly wanted to avenge one of their footballer friends who fought during a match last December between Menton and the Astam Football Club team (Nice-Est).
An event
“which we had no way of preventing.
These attackers deliberately targeted an Étoile de Menton player, introducing more than regrettable confusion
,” adds Eddy Laï.
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“Our security was not ensured”
On the side of the Menton club, anger is brewing.
“Our security was not ensured by the district and its representative who should have ensured as requested that all access was closed.
We regret that this celebration of football against a very good team and a very good club, whose players and managers did their utmost to help us and avoid additional drama at the time of the events and whom we thank, was spoiled. in such a violent and disastrous way for the psychological health of everyone
,” says Pierrette Gambarini.
And added that the club she chairs has filed a complaint and will file a complaint
“against all the authorities responsible for this chaos”
.
The Sûreté des Alpes-Maritimes confirms that an investigation has been opened to shed light on the circumstances of this incident
“which could have ended very badly”
, comments a police officer.