55% of away fans banned this weekend in Ligue 1

According to a ministerial decree published today, supporters of Paris Saint-Germain, Stade Rennais, OGC Nice, Stade de Reims, and Brest will be banned from attending their away fixtures in Ligue 1 this weekend.

This will mean that over half of all Ligue 1 games will be without away fans this weekend, with the French interior ministry claiming “direct animosity” between the supporters of the mentioned sides. 

Of the five matches concerned, only the meeting between Le Havre and Nice does not mention any conflictual relations between the two teams. In fact, the refers to a risk linked to “supporters of  Nice who maintain strong friendly relations with supporters from Nancy, who are themselves close to supporters from Rouen, with whom supporters of Le Havre Athletic Club maintain a strong antagonism”.

The state’s ban on away fans was overturned last night for Sevilla fans travelling to Lens for the Champions League, with the National Association of Supporters’ lawyer bringing the case before the Council of State. Several other matches had bans overturned last weekend, with all ‘high-risk’ fixtures seeing away travel banned since the tragic death of a Nantes supporter several weeks ago.

GFFN | George Boxall