No Marseille supporters in Saint-Etienne. At least, not in the stands of Geoffroy-Guichard. Following scuffles before the match between ASSE and OM, at the end of the 23rd day of Ligue 1, the authorities prohibited them from entering the stadium and they were forced to turn back, to return directly to Marseille . Note that the meeting was delayed by a quarter of an hour. The police force, to put an end to the confrontation between supporters of the two camps in the vicinity of Geoffroy-Guichard, indeed used tear gas which penetrated in the enclosure and thus embarrassed spectators and players.
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But according to OM, it was the Stéphanois fans who opened hostilities. “A few hundred meters from the entrance to the Geoffroy-Guichard stadium, the buses of OM supporters were targeted by hooded individuals who violently attacked them. The coaches have suffered significant damage, ”said a statement. And to continue: "Arrived in the parking lot of the stadium, our supporters were confined on the spot and underwent throwing of multiple objects from the Stéphanois supporters and particularly violent reactions of the police who used gas tear gas, a water cannon but also obviously flashballs. They were not allowed to enter their gallery for obscure reasons. ”
The Marseillais do not intend to stop there
In the end, the Marseille club presents its supporters as "doubly victims, on the one hand of the blind brutality of certain so-called opposing supporters, and on the other hand of the right to live their passion for OM, which the Club cannot guarantee. ”As a result, Olympique de Marseille does not intend to stop there and“ reserves the right to consider and implement all steps or actions that will allow the Club and its supporters to be restored in their rights ”. The case is far from over…
"Quite significant clashes", notes Xavier Thuilot
Before the meeting, while the incidents between supporters were not yet over, Xavier Thuilot, ASSE general manager, spoke on Canal + : “Clashes broke out between supporters of the two clubs, and with the police who intervened of course. So quite significant clashes. The police had to use tear gas, which spread the cloud around the stadium and caused the delay. Of course, we regret all this. It's still a bad image for football as a whole. But the authorities took charge of the file. We are just following. They are the ones who decide, step by step, what to do next. ”At that time, the Stéphanois leader did not yet know that the authorities were going to send Marseille fans… home. "It was the prefect's chief of staff and the authorities who took all of this in hand," he said. We are only followers. When it takes these proportions, it is no longer the club. Especially since the clashes take place on the public highway, not in the stadium. They are the ones who took matters into their own hands. "And to conclude, more generally, on the question of supporters:" It is a very complex, collective problem, to which collective responses must be provided. Individual responses, as we can see, do not work. Behind, these are necessarily reflections that we must have. But there, it did not happen in the stadium, so the authorities took things in hand very normally and are trying to cope. "
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️ "Clashes broke out between supporters of the two clubs and with the police (...) The police had to use tear gas, which spread the cloud in the stadium"
Xavier Thuilot's explanations on the delay in kick-off ️ pic.twitter.com/DTEaqw7qo6
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