Two Lyon supporters were sentenced this Tuesday to prison and three years banned from stadiums for having brandished a flag reminiscent of that of an SS division in the stands of the Olympique de Marseille on October 29.
In their absence, the Marseille criminal court sentenced one to six months in prison, which can be fitted with an electronic bracelet, and the second to four months, which can also be fitted with a bracelet, for "introduction or carrying into a sports venue object inciting hatred or discrimination based on origin, ethnicity, nation, race or religion.
On the other hand, they were acquitted of the offense of “public incitement to hatred because of origin, ethnicity, nation, race or religion”, the court considering the offense “insufficiently characterized”.
According to the jurisprudence of the press law which punishes these offenses, the “provocation” must consist of encouraging racist hatred and not only acts that are themselves racist.
A flag of the “Mezza Lyon”
In this case, the two men, aged 33 and 35, were prosecuted for making Nazi salutes and racist shouts in the stands and for having brandished a flag resembling that of the “Charlemagne division”, a division of the Waffen-SS of the Second World War made up mainly of French volunteers.
The flag in question is that of a group of ultra supporters of Olympique Lyonnais called “Mezza Lyon” which they co-founded, a group not recognized by OL and linked to the extreme right, which they denied at the hearing.
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The two men were also ordered to pay 500 euros each in damages to Licra, SOS Racisme and the Sportitude association, and one euro each to Olympique Lyonnais and Olympique de Marseille as well as to the Professional Football League, all civil parties.
One admitted to the audience an outstretched arm salute and racist cries (monkey cries and insults), which he described as a “gesture of annoyance and provocation linked to a context of extreme tension”.
These incidents occurred against the backdrop of a particularly tense pre-match on October 29.
The Lyon team's bus was notably stoned and its coach at the time, the Italian Fabio Grosso, injured.
The match was ultimately postponed.
Serge Tavitian, lawyer for Licra, welcomed this sentence to “not insignificant penalties”.