The match will start at the Vélodrome stadium at 9 p.m. this Thursday evening. It will oppose Olympique de Marseille to the Greek club PAOK Salonika in the quarter-final first leg of the Europa League Conference, the third stage of European Cups. The confrontation, however, has already begun in Marseille. The Greek supporters decided to make a mess and they didn’t delay. In the middle of the afternoon, two PAOK supporters, described as “thugs” by the Bouches-du-Rhône police headquarters, were arrested for having “violated the safety instructions which they had nevertheless agreed”. The prefecture specifies that they “will have to explain themselves to French justice. »
It is in the Joliette district in the 2nd arrondissement west of the Old Port that the Greek supporters gathered all dressed in black and for some already alcoholic. Several dozen police vehicles went to the site amid fears of clashes with groups of Marseille supporters. According to information from RMC, the PAOK Salonique had undertaken in writing, with the Prefecture of Bouches-du-Rhône, that its supporters who have the reputation of being excited do not come to the city center of Marseille in the hours before the match. This was one of the conditions for accepting the arrival of the 3,000 Greek fans. This commitment was not respected.
As of Wednesday evening, several hundred Greek supporters gathered in a hotel not far from La Joliette had faced the CRS. The first clashes took place with Marseille ultras and the first damage was observed. The Greek supporters have an appointment in a secret place, outside Marseille, for an arrival at the stadium, by bus, secure and under escort. Police and CRS are mobilized to avoid clashes before or after the match. But Marseille is expecting a hot evening.