“I experienced the biggest shame of my life and one of my greatest fears; we really avoided a tragedy. » Monday, December 16, it is still very experienced that a representative of the club of the Plombières Sports and Cultural Association (ASC), returns to the serious incidents at the end of the match which opposed his senior team the day before at the Fontaine-d'Ouche Sports Association (ASFO) in Dijon. The Plombières-lès-Dijon club hosted the Dijonnais for the 9e day of the departmental championship 2.
“Overall, the match was very good, in a good spirit, there was very little friction between players, nothing bad,” summarizes a spectator. On the other hand, from the stands, the insults are flying. “The Fontaine-d'Ouche supporters were quite numerous, they insulted and threatened throughout the match,” assures the ASC representative interviewed. “Even the referee was threatened with death, it’s unacceptable. Three quarters of the Plombières players did not feel safe on the pitch and did not play free. »
Gunshot heard and knives seen by witnesses
At the end of the match, around 4:45 p.m., ASFO won 3 goals to 2. But in the stands, after the final whistle, tempers heated up. “A Plombières supporter did not appreciate that his team lost and he allegedly made racist remarks,” says Amine, the ASFO coach.
“It got into a tailspin with our supporters, there was a big fight which took place in front of a house next to the stadium. » According to several witnesses, a shot was even fired into the air. “It sure wasn’t a firecracker,” confides a spectator. “I saw it from afar, I tried to get away quickly, I went in the opposite direction by climbing a portal. »
Several people tell us they saw knives used during the fight. The representative of the Plombières club confirms that “people avoided stabbings, there were others who found themselves on the ground, beaten by dozens of supporters of Fontaine-d'Ouche, I do not I had never seen anything like this, it was impressive and frightening. There were young children traumatized, in tears, young girls went to lock themselves in the locker rooms out of fear,” continues the ASC representative. “It was crazy. »
According to our information, Plombières players, who intervened to calm things down, were attacked. One of them was injured and had a head wound. He was transported to the Dijon university hospital and had to be stitched up.
Around fifteen gendarmes (PSIG from Dijon, gendarmes from Sombernon, Messigny-et-Vantoux and Quetigny) intervened after the fight which involved around thirty people. Although the shooting and the presence of knives were reported to the police, on Monday they were not yet able to confirm these elements. A source close to the investigation tells us that people, victims and witnesses, “don’t dare to speak”.
“Our football is sick”
Moreover, no complaint has yet been filed. “I am going to file one on behalf of the club, but the victims are too afraid of reprisals, and I understand them, because there were threats afterwards,” declares the ASC representative. “We knew that there had already been problems with this club, but using weapons, we reached an unprecedented level of violence, it is not acceptable. »
Amine, the ASFO coach, regrets these events and condemns them. “The match went well, but we can't manage the fans on both sides, there was a lack of security. It's really stupid to react this way, with violence, for a departmental 2 football match! Some people take it too seriously, it’s a shame it’s come to this.”
If an investigation was opened by the gendarmerie, on the side of the Côte-d'Or football district, the disciplinary committee was contacted. “I am waiting to have all the elements with the reports from the referee and my delegate who were on site,” explains Jérôme Thibert, president of the district.
“An instructor will examine the file and make recommendations to us regarding sanctions. We really have to do something about this violence around the stadiums.
On the pitch, we don't have much, the problem often comes from those around us, from the supporters and, unfortunately, we cannot control them. Our football is sick, we see it now from a very young age, with parents who get angry, attack educators or referees, it's distressing. » For this representative of the ASC club, “ASFO should be deregistered, because the problem is not new”.
Another match stopped in Perrigny-lès-Dijon
Another incident occurred on Sunday December 15, in the afternoon, on a football field. This time, it's a departmental 3 match, between Perrigny-lès-Dijon and the Grésilles football club (FC) of Dijon, which almost ended badly. But the police had been warned of possible tensions and had therefore set up a security system in the stadium. During the match, insults and provocations were thrown at the players by supporters.
Ten minutes before the end of the match, while Perrigny was leading 5 to 1 and tension was rising in the stands, the referee decided to interrupt, then definitively stop the match. “He judged that the players were no longer safe,” specifies Jérôme Thibert, president of the football district. “I am waiting for its report and, here too, the disciplinary committee is seized. »
On the side of the gendarmes, we emphasize that “the brawl was avoided, we were able to contain the situation”.
