This Saturday, ASSE won a very important match against the bottom of the championship, Montpellier. This 1-0 victory allowed the Stéphanois to temporarily return to 13th position. During this meeting, one image particularly stood out. The Montpellier parking lot at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard remained empty throughout the match.
Geoffroy-Guichard’s parking lot deprived of 300 supporters
The 300 Montpellier supporters who made the trip to Saint-Étienne will not have seen a single minute of the match. Escorted, as planned, to Geoffroy-Guichard, the situation quickly escalated before their entry into the stadium. As reported Progress : “At 5:30 p.m., several dozen Montpellier supporters got off their bus, armed with iron bars and other blunt objects, to violently oppose the Saint-Etienne ultra supporters located nearby.” These clashes took place on the outskirts of the Kop Nord.
The police intervened, but unfortunately injuries were reported. Four police officers and ten Montpellier supporters were affected.
A press release was then published by the Loire Prefecture.
“Prohibition of access to the stadium for Montpellier supporters following clashes between supporters of AS Saint-Étienne and Montpellier Hérault Sport Club (MHSC) ahead of the match between the two clubs.
Clashes between supporters ahead of the match
On November 23, 2024, at 4:30 p.m., the 300 MHSC supporters were transported from the Saint-Romain-en-Gier area to the Geoffroy Guichard stadium, as provided in prefectural decree no. DS 2024-2322 of November 15, 2024, taken due to the risk of disturbance to public order assessed for this meeting.
At 5:30 p.m., several dozen Montpellier supporters got off their bus, before entering the stadium, armed with iron bars and other blunt objects, to violently oppose the Saint-Etienne ultra supporters located nearby. They therefore contravened the requirements of the prefectural decree of November 15, 2024.
The rapid and resolute intervention of the national police made it possible to put an end to the unrest. The restoration of public order required significant use of tear gas and a water thrower.
Ten Montpellier supporters were taken care of by the firefighters. Four police officers were injured.
Application of the ban on access to the stadium for MHSC supporters
The Montpellier supporters, after having reached the stadium visitors' car park under good escort, were evacuated for an immediate return to the Hérault department.
The prefect of the Loire strongly condemns these actions, which harm the image of football, of sport in general, and mobilize substantial means of public security. “
