VIDEO: Fans wreck part of newly-built stadium in France
Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) president Frederic Thiriez has threatened to impose “systematic bans” on supporters after violence marred Sunday’s Ligue 1 clash between Nice and St Etienne at the Allianz Riviera stadium.
According to L’Equipe, around 250 visiting St Etienne fans were ejected from the stadium after some of their number began throwing seats at home supporters around an hour prior to kick-off.
Additional reports indicate the disturbance lasted around 10 minutes, during which time nine people were injured.
In a statement on the official LFP website, Thiriez expressed exasperation with the violence.
“Enough! The few cretins who claim to be supporters do not even realise they ruin the image of football,” the statement read.
“I will ask a meeting with the ministry of Interior to discuss the supporters’ trips to away games.
“If we don’t succeed in resolving this problem it will end with a systematic ban on [supporters’] trips, which nobody wishes.”
The presidents of both clubs were united in condemnation of the unrest.
Nice president Jean-Pierre Rivere said in quotes reported by L’Equipe: “I’m angry, I do not accept what happened this afternoon.
“I do not understand that fans come into a stadium and break everything.
“No club is immune to such incidents and we all need to think about solutions.”
Roland Romeyer, the St Etienne president, added on L’Equipe: “I regret what happened this afternoon.
“I think of the wounded and I am so disappointed for our fans who have done nothing and could not see the game.
“This still gives a bad image of our sport.
“I hope that those responsible will be punished as they should.”
The violent scenes were just the prelude to a miserable afternoon for Nice, with Claude Puel’s men going down to a 1-0 defeat courtesy of Mevlut Erding’s first league goal for St Etienne.
The state-of-the-art Allianz Riviera only opened its doors on September 22, having been built as part of a nationwide stadium improvement programme ahead of Euro 2016, which is to be held in France.
