“There is strong antagonism between independent supporters at risk from Marseille and ultra supporters from Nîmes,” announces the Bouches-du-Rhône prefecture.
This Saturday at 7:30 p.m., for the 17th day of National, Nîmes Olympique is making its shortest trip of the season by going to Aubagne. A town located around an hour and a half drive from Nîmes and therefore the opportunity for certain Crocos supporters, who no longer come to Les Antonins, to go and encourage their team away.
This Tuesday, January 14, the Bouches-du-Rhône prefecture issued an order prohibiting the travel of Nîmes supporters: “On Saturday January 18, 2025 from 10:00 a.m. to midnight, it is prohibited for any person claiming to be a supporter of Nîmes Olympique or behaving as such, to access the De Lattre de Tassigny stadium in Aubagne and to move or park on public roads within the limits of the commune of Aubagne.”
A disappointment for the Gladiators because 120 supporters from this main Nîmes group had planned to go to the match. In the decree, the prefecture highlights “the geographical proximity between Marseille and Aubagne which facilitates the presence of independent Marseille supporters” and is justified by evoking, “that there is a strong antagonism between independent supporters at risk from Marseille and ultra supporters from Nîmes, as evidenced by the serious disturbances to public order observed during previous trips.”
-A visitor parking lot with only 50 spaces
Reference is made in particular to the trip of Nîmes supporters to the Vélodrome stadium on April 13, 2019, “where Nîmes supporters showed up at the meeting point in greater numbers than the authorized number and had to be escorted by the police to Nîmes where incidents broke out between Nîmes supporters and the police, requiring for the police to use tear gas grenades to disperse them.”
In addition to this rivalry, it is also highlighted that the small Aubagne stadium is not equipped, “a waterproof visitors area; that usually, an area capable of accommodating 50 people is reserved at the west end of the stand separated from the general public by a cordon of stewards.” Conditions which, for the prefecture, do not ensure the safety of people and property.
A regrettable decision given that last season nearly 300 Nîmes supporters were able to travel to Marignane, also near Marseille, without any problem being reported. Despite the fears upstream, the club then highlighted the good behavior of the Gard supporters. Thirteenth, with only one point ahead of the first relegated team, the Nîmes will have to fend for themselves to bring back the three points.
