Ligue 1: after incidents in Ajaccio, Marseille fans will be limited to a fan zone

2023-06-03 09:14:32

A decision made after a hectic evening. The prefecture of Corse-du-Sud announced this Saturday morning the creation of a fan zone for the approximately 600 Marseille supporters expected for the Ligue 1 Ajaccio-OM match and their ban on entering the city after incidents in the center of Ajaccio on Friday evening.

The mayor of the city, Stéphane Sbraggia, had asked Friday evening for the cancellation of the match so that the supporters, most of whom are due to arrive this Saturday, do not “expose themselves to a risk of violence which is already present and which could take an uncontrollable magnitude.

The prefecture finally chose to issue a new decree to prohibit “any person claiming to be a supporter and arrived by sea or air, from moving” to Ajaccio or Grosseto-Prugna.

“One arrest and four slightly injured”

While waiting for the match as part of the 38th and last day of Ligue 1, scheduled for 9 p.m., they will have to go to Ricanto beach near the airport where “a reception system is organized”. Two municipal decrees and a prefectural decree had already been taken in particular to prohibit them from accessing the center of Ajaccio, where a local festival is also held.

But Friday, incidents opposed supporters, in particular near a hotel where Marseillais were staying. “There was one arrest and four minor injuries,” we learned from the police.

Around the establishment, where the damage is significant, “there was a brawl between two groups with provocations. Thirty-five Marseille supporters were in the hotel in a defensive position with people attacking them,” according to the police. The police fired tear gas to disperse them and calm returned around midnight.

This Saturday evening, “it is absolutely vital that the fishermen’s party is over at the end of the match”, still insist the police. On the occasion of St Erasmus, patron saint of fishermen, a family and popular festival takes place every year on the port of the city for three days.