2023-12-11 18:40:03
By Le Figaro with AFP
Published 40 minutes ago, Updated now
”
data-script=”
>
Sevilla FC will have to cope without its supporters against Lens on Tuesday evening in the Champions League.
The travel ban on Spanish supporters of Sevilla FC, who face Lens on Tuesday evening in the Champions League at the Bollaert stadium, was confirmed on Monday by the prefecture of Pas-de-Calais (north) after the announcements made the day before by the minister French Interior. In a decree, the State services indicate that it “Any person claiming to be a supporter of Sevilla FC is prohibited (…) from accessing the Bollart-Delelis stadium in Lens and its surroundings», in an area including Lens and Arras.
The prefecture justifies this decision in particular by “overflows” and the “clashes» having taken place during previous trips by Andalusian fans, because “this meeting is identified as risky by the National Division for the Fight against Hooliganism”, or even because “since the start of 2023, the travel of football club supporters has very frequently been a source of disturbances to public order».
The Spanish Embassy concerned
Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin announced on Sunday that supporters of the Spanish club would not be able to travel to Lens to attend this last match in Group B of the C1. This ban follows the death of a Nantes supporter during an altercation on December 2 before a French Championship match between FC Nantes and Nice.
A decision portrayed on Monday as “a true atrocity which limits the rights of Europeans» by José Castro, the president of the Sevillian club. Sevilla FC also announced in a press release “submit an urgent appeal, with the National Association of French Supporters» against this measure and affirms that the club “will put into action all its legal and diplomatic capacities» to overturn this decision.
For its part, the Spanish Embassy in Paris expressed its “concern to the French authorities because the interests of Spanish citizens could be harmed».
The Lens coach, Franck Haise, “regret» also this decision, “especially since the information was late». «The draw took place at the end of August (August 31, Editor’s note),” recalled the Norman on Monday at a press conference. “The Seville fans organized not a trip but a trip. There are 300 or 400 of them, and at the last moment they are told no because there are certain problems – all countries have them – and they are told to stay at home, not even ten months before the Games. Olympics… But what are we going to do for the Olympic Games, if we can’t accommodate 300 Sevillians on our soil?“, he said.
#prefecture #confirms #travel #ban #Sevilla #supporters #Lens