After a year of playing behind closed doors, the return of supporters is a welcome sight across stadiums in Europe.
French football though is reeling from a number of incidents which have marred the start of the Ligue 1 season, with brawling in the stands and on the pitch, and objects being thrown between opposing sets of supporters.
There was a lot of excitement going into the campaign, in part due to the boost of Lionel Messi’s arrival at Paris Saint-Germain. But the ongoing violence in French football is serving as an unwelcome distraction.
Marseille players clashed with Nice ultras after a bottle was thrown at Dimitri Payet
Payet threw the bottle at the Nice ultras, which led to the hardcore fans coming onto the field
Lens supporters clash with riot police officers during their Ligue 1 clash against Lille
The problem is nothing new, with French clubs sanctioned for various types of unrest in previous seasons, including pitch invasions, objects being thrown between supporters and setting fireworks off in the stands.
But since the return of fans after a year of restrictions, barely a week seems to go by without some sort of crowd trouble. Clubs have received punishments varying from the ban of away fans to partial ground closures to fines. However, it doesn’t seem to have deterred fans from causing trouble, with four notable incidents in a 12-day period between September 18 and 30.
It all started on the opening weekend of the season, after missiles were thrown onto the pitch after Marseille’s Dimitri Payet scored against Montpellier. The referee was forced to stop play after midfielder Valentin Roniger was struck with a bottle by a Montpellier supporter.
Security could do little as Lens ultras ran onto the pitch as fans of both clubs clashed
Marseille’s clash with Nice on August 22 was then suspended after Payet threw a bottle back into the crowd which had struck him, leading to a melee involving Marseille players and Nice’s ultras who stormed the pitch.
The incident led to Marseille’s physio Pablo Fernandez being banned for the season after throwing punches at Nice players. Nice were docked two points – one of which was suspended – while Marseille defender Alvaro Gonzalez received a two-game ban and the match has been rescheduled for October 27.
Marseille fans are currently waiting to find out when they can return to away games after clashing with Angers supporters in a Ligue 1 clash on September 22.
Marseille coach Jorge Sampaoli gets dragged away during their match against Nice
Elsewhere this season, Lens’ clash with Lille on September 18 was delayed by more than 30 minutes when objects were thrown between both sets of supporters which led to a section of home ultras entering the pitch from an adjacent stand.
It was recently reported by French outlet L’Equipe that the French government would meet with the LFP concerning the rise in fan violence, as punishments have done little to dissuade further crowd trouble.
France24.com reported that the incidents have led to much ‘soul-searching’ in the country, and that it may be down to the return of charged atmospheres in football grounds, with fans releasing pent-up frustrations from a year of coronavirus restrictions.
Angers had one of their stands closed for the game with Metz while away fans of other clubs have been banned at games this season amid a series of shocking violent episodes
Marseille supporters invade the field during their away Ligue 1 trip against Angers
There appears to have been some confusion over who is meant to deal with events that happen inside stadiums.
France’s Minister of National Education, Youth and Sports, Jean-Michel Blanquer put the blame on the incidents so far this season on ultra groups and hooligans but said they would take action with incidents ‘outside stadiums’.
He told news channel LCI: ‘This is obviously totally unacceptable. With (the minister of the Interior) Gerald Darmanin we will probably take action when it comes to events that happen outside the stadiums.’
For the clashes in the stadiums, the minister returned the ball to the football authorities, the LFP and the French Football Federation.
‘Some clubs have in the past succeeded in putting an end to this unbearable hooliganism. We will have further discussions with the League and the Federation on what is envisaged in this matter.
‘They have already reacted to two events that have gone too far in recent times. Sanctions have been taken and we will ask what new measures are being considered to put an end to this.
‘But there are people who must be banned from stadium in the future from the moment they have had this type of behavior. You have to be firm. These are people who damage the image of sport, who overturn what sport should be.’
Despite the minister’s comments, after the Marseille v Nice game, the LFP president said the governing body was ‘limited’ in its ability to control the problems.
Vincent Labrune wrote to France’s ministers of the interior, law and education as well as its delegate in charge of sport, as per France 24: ‘The very regrettable violent scenes… remind us that safety at football matches and the control of some supporters are particularly complex.
‘The LFP is quite limited in its ability to control the problems of violence and public order.
‘It is, in fact, essential that the troublemakers are significantly sanctioned and that necessitates collective action from the clubs, authorities, local and national government and also, especially the law.’
Marseille’s Europa League clash with Galatasaray was halted when flares were thrown
Marseille fans are waiting to find out when they can return to away games after Angers clash
The ongoing issues has also raised security doubts with Marseille expressing concern about the ease with which their fans could access the pitch before their game with Angers.
Lyon fans were recently banned for their derby clash with Saint-Etienne, with RMC Sport reporting the decision ‘appeared to be motivated by a fear’ of another pitch invasion.
With Messi’s arrival in Ligue 1, this was seen as a time when the league could profit from having arguably the world’s greatest ever player arrive in the league.
But with authorities pondering on how to stop the sight of the crowd trouble which has plagued the season so far, the incidents are not helping French football as it looks to capitalise on Messi’s arrival.
