This Tuesday, December 10, at 9 p.m., Stade Brestois will play its third Champions League match at home, in “its” Roudourou stadium, in Guingamp. A match that promises to be formidable from several points of view. First on a sporting level because the Dutch are at the top of their championship and held off PSG a month and a half ago. And also because of the reputation of its supporters. The scenes of violence, in October 2023, in Lens, which broke out between PSV Eindhoven supporters and the French police, on the sidelines of the Champions League match, left their mark.
Vigilance on 50 supporters at risk
According to the Costa Rican authorities, Dutch supporters, particularly the most fervent, described as hooligans, have less interest in this match. The 850 km to cover by coach can be somewhat discouraging. According to these same authorities, 50 of them require special vigilance. The match against Brest, however, was raised to level 4 (5 being the highest), according to the ranking of the national anti-hooliganism division (DLNH). He was at level 3 for the previous two matches, against Sturm Graz then Leverkusen.
During PSV’s trip to Paris last October, the Paris prefect issued an order to prohibit the travel of Dutch supporters, which was ultimately canceled by the Council of State. Why not such a decision in Côtes-d’Armor? “Unlike this match, in Paris, there is no dispute between the two clubs. There is therefore no reason to prohibit the movement of supporters,” says the Côtes-d’Armor prefecture, which specifies that 300 to 350 gendarmes will be mobilized for this risky match. That is more than the 274 police forces involved in the previous match, against Leverkusen.
The fan zone moved to the public garden
Unlike the first two matches, the fan zone will be organized at the Guingamp public garden. And this, because of the Christmas activities which occupy the Place du Center and the Place de la République. The magic tree, the catering chalets, the ice rink and Uncle Scrooge’s carousel would not leave enough room for the 800 to 900 Dutch people expected.
It is in this fan zone that the “meeting point” is organized, where foreign supporters exchange their vouchers for stadium entry tickets, before the start of the “fan walk”. This collective journey, supervised by the police, should start at 6:30 p.m. via rue du Maréchal-Joffre, rue de l’Yzer, avenue John-Fidgerald-Kennedy to reach rue du Manoir and the Roudourou stadium. However, Philippe Le Goff, the mayor of Guingamp, previously emphasized: “Foreign supporters are free to move as they wish in the city center, before the meeting point.”
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