Twenty people were arrested in Marseille during incidents between supporters on Wednesday evening, on the eve of the semi-final second leg of the Europa League Conference between OM and Feyenoord Rotterdam, we learned Thursday from the police Department.
The majority of those arrested are Marseille supporters, the same source said.
As night fell on Wednesday, the Dutch had gathered in large numbers on terraces near the Old Port, under the surveillance of French and Dutch law enforcement, an AFP photographer noted.
Projectiles were first fired in their direction, according to the Bouches-du-Rhône police headquarters, then Marseille supporters arrived and groups from both sides began to provoke each other.
“
There were no major overflows
”, insisted Thursday morning the police headquarters, which provides “
a rise in power
” of the security device for the day around the meeting.
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In all, around a thousand members of the police will be present in the city between the “fan-zone” dedicated to Dutch supporters, the city center and the stadium, she detailed.
The meeting was classified as "level 5" in terms of security by the authorities, the maximum level, according to a source familiar with the matter.
Installed on the beach of Prado, the largest beach in the city, the “fan-zone” was to open Thursday at 10:00 a.m. to avoid overflows.
“
This place will allow supporters to be transported to the Vélodrome stadium under the escort of the
police,” said the police headquarters in a press release.
Inside the stadium, all Dutch supporters will be gathered in the visitors' area and a buffer zone empty of spectators will be set up between the visitors' stands and the Jean-Bouin stand.
The North bend will be closed to the public, recalled the prefecture, referring to the sanction taken against the Marseille club by UEFA after the incidents during the quarter-final between OM and the Greeks of PAOK Salonika.
Some 3,200 Dutch supporters are expected at the Stade Vélodrome on Thursday evening, and 1,000 to 1,500 others in town, without a ticket.