No Marseille fans at the Groupama stadium and its surroundings on Sunday in Décines-Charpieu (Rhône): the “Olympic” poster for the fifth day of Ligue 1, on Sunday 22 September, between Olimpiade Lyon (OL) and Marseille (OM) will see its away park empty. This is what the resigning Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, decided in a decree published on Thursday in Official JournalThe measure, which will come into force on Sunday morning until midnight, is justified by the fact that there are “a real and serious risk of clashes between fans of the two clubs”.
According to the decree, the trips of OM fans “They are very often a source of disruption to public order due to the violent behaviour of certain followers”and this “around stadiums and in urban centers of meeting places” during “Fights between fans”with “violence against the police or the throwing of firecrackers, smoke bombs or agricultural bombs”.
This was the case in September 2021, the decree recalls, during the meeting against the SCO in Angers, during which “Many projectiles were exchanged between fans of both teams” before a “Violent confrontation on the pitch invaded by fans of both teams and damage to the stadium furniture”. “The seriousness of the incidents” then there was “It led the Professional Football League to declare the closure of the visiting stands during OM’s trips until December 31, 2021”.
The resigning minister also recalls that during home matches some Lyon supporters “have engaged in violent behavior on a regular basis for many years”.
During the 2023-2024 season, serious incidents marred the two clubs’ matches: on 29 October, the OM-OL match had to be cancelled following an attack on Lyon’s bus by Marseille, about two hours before kick-off. The then Rhône coach, Fabio Grosso, was seriously injured in the face by broken glass. Last season, the fans came to blows after the OL-OM match (1-2), played on Sunday 23 April 2023.
