The mayors of the two municipalities, where the stadium of Olympique Lyonnais is located, refuse that Italian supporters come to attend the knockout round of the Champions League between Lyon and Juventus on Wednesday evening. They asked the authorities to ban the movement of Turin fans. "In the name of the precautionary principle but also of the prevention of any disturbance to public order, it is in concert that we ask the highest authorities of the French State to rule against the arrival of Italian supporters", write in a joint press release the mayor of Décines Laurence Fautra and his counterpart from the neighboring town of Meyzieu Christophe Quiniou.
The two elected believe that "the prospect of this meeting gives rise to fears, legitimate" among their constituents, "immediately concerned by the reception and the flow of supporters". "For several days, we have been in contact with the regional prefecture but also the Regional Health Agency to share our strongest reservations with the arrival of nearly 3,000 Italian supporters," they add.
In Italy, the number of contaminations with the new coronavirus jumped to more than 280 and seven people died, making it the most affected country in Europe. The main focus is in the region of Lombardy (north-west), neighboring the region of Turin. Earlier, the Minister of Health Olivier Véran had assured on RTL that "no scientific and medical argument today" led "to stop collective events", while acknowledging that the epidemic was "on our doorstep". For the moment, no movement restrictions for these 3,000 supporters have been announced.
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