Arriving by minibus and cars in Saint-Étienne this Sunday morning, on the sidelines of the 32nd final of the Coupe de France, 250 ultras from Marseille defied the travel ban imposed on them, with the aim of attending the match in the Geoffroy-Guichard enclosure. They were finally turned back by the police.
While the resigning Minister of the Interior issued an order this Thursday against the arrival of Marseille supporters at the Geoffroy-Guichard stadium on the occasion of the 32nd final of the Coupe de France between OM and Saint-Etienne (this Sunday), a certain number of Marseille ultras have passed over.
From 5 a.m., processions of cars and minibuses filled with nearly 250 Olympian fans went to Forez and demonstrated their disagreement with the travel ban. Gathered around the Geoffroy-Guichard stadium to take photos, the groups of ultras were first parked by the police inside the stadium, in the visitors' parking lot, to avoid any scuffles with Saint-Etienne supporters, as explained by L'Equipe and a press release from the prefect of the Loire.
Four hours of blur then a departure under police escort
If the representatives of the groups of supporters present then insisted on obtaining places and entering the enclosure, the prefect of the Loire maintained “the ban on parking, traffic on public roads and access to the stadium as well as 'in downtown Saint Etienne.
Around 9:30 a.m., a CRS team finally escorted the group to the motorway toll booth, near Vienne, in Isère, to take them back on the road towards the South. Note that no incident is to be reported and that the Marseillais surrendered without any visible sign of belonging to OM, allowing them to avoid being fined on the spot. The registration plates and identities were, however, recorded, “for subsequent administrative and legal proceedings”, specifies the press release from the Loire prefecture.
“Once again, and as too often since the start of the season, our supporters will not travel,” lamented Olympique de Marseille in an official press release this Saturday.
This is the second travel ban to Geoffroy-Guichard in less than two weeks for Marseille supporters after the first order pronounced on behalf of the 14th day of Ligue 1, on December 8 (2-0 victory for Marseille).
Note that at least 11 Coupe de France matches are impacted by a management order, a travel ban or a grandstand closure this weekend.
