The tension rose a notch on Thursday evening at the Allianz, when Václav Černý opened the scoring for Glasgow Rangers in the thirty-fifth minute. Not just sportingly. The demonstrations of joy from Scottish supporters then allowed the security forces at this Europa League match, classified as high risk, to to realize that the approximately 1,800 visitors having crossed the Channel for the occasion were not all in the parking lot allocated to them.
A fear confirmed less than three minutes later, when Glasgow scored a second goal against the Aiglons. There are several dozen of them exulting in the middle of the Nice stands! A “promiscuity” that the authorities absolutely wanted to avoid. Well in advance of the match, the Scottish supporters had been directed to a gathering point, in the Pins car park, where dedicated shuttles were waiting to take them to the stadium, where they were escorted to the places which had been dedicated to them .
A journey under close surveillance so that they do not cross paths with the Nice ultras… But what was clearly not taken by more than 200 “Rangers” who went to sit in the North stand, for the majority of these intruders, and in the Garibaldi stand, for a more limited number of them.
A high-risk situation which had to be remedied during the match.
Redirected in the middle of a match
In the end, there were no notable incidentsunderlines the club: “Thanks to our stewards and law enforcement, we managed to manage the situation.”
At the end of the first period, the “intruders” were asked to come out of the stands to be directed to a more appropriate area. First in their yard which, already full, could not accommodate them all. “We then decided to group them at the edge of this parking lot in the no-man's land in the North stand, which is supposed to prevent them from being too close to the Nice supporters”continues the club. Failed, the 228 seats in this buffer zone found themselves occupied by Scots.
To avoid any friction with their Nice neighborsand in particular a few ultras who had already left the South stand to get closer, two CRS companies were deployed in addition to the stewards. Countermeasures that have proven effective… “But everyone would have liked to avoid having to deploy in the middle of a match”assures the club.
Change the law and the stage
It remains to be seen how dozens of Scottish supporters were able to slip through the cracks of the security net in this risky match.
The club ensures that a “common process had been put in place with Glasgow Rangers and UEFA, validated by the prefecture, for the purchase of visitor tickets”.
A sales channel that some have therefore succeeded in “brave” despite the “control cell” also activated by OGC Nice for “monitors” purchases made on its own ticket office.
“We reclassified around 300 sales”assures the club. So many potential Scots who have found an alternative “on the black market both online and physical, up to the immediate surroundings of the stadium”. The club is convinced that this is how the “intruders” bought their titles and passed the checks, taking care to hide their signs of belonging, jerseys and scarves.
How to protect against it in the future? OGC Nice points out that the legislation prohibits it from carrying out nominative sales or geolocating the email addresses of buyers. Perhaps we need to change the rules… And the stadium. The club takes the opportunity to recall that it has long been calling for better sectorization of the Allianz stands. “It would help us manage this kind of flow…”
