“200 euros that disappear without being refunded”… For supporters, late travel bans have a cost

Five new Ligue 1 matches subject to travel bans on Saturday December 16 and Sunday December 17. Supporters of Nice (in Le Havre), Reims (in Lens), Brest (in Nantes), Rennes (in Toulouse) and PSG (in Lille) will not be able to go and support their team this weekend, due to a ministerial decree published in the Official Journal on December 13. After the death of a Nantes supporter on the sidelines of the match between FC Nantes and Nice on December 2, the Ministry of the Interior toughened its tone, at the expense of supporters who had already booked their transport and accommodation and who cannot not be reimbursed.

Suitcases were packed, boarding passes prepared before heading to the airport. For Vanessa, supporter of Sevilla FC, who was to go to Lens on Tuesday for the last day of the group stage of the Champions League, the announcement of the travel ban on Sevillian fans by Gérald Darmanin was a cold shower . “We saw his interview on Twitter on Sunday evening, in which he said that we would not be able to come to Lens. Knowing that we had until Monday to obtain partial reimbursement for the accommodation, we preferred to cancel our trip. We felt a little in danger, with the fear of being arrested on the spot”says the Sevillian, who is used to European travel with her club, seven-time winner of the Europa League since 2006.

The Andalusian supporter had to give up nearly 200 euros invested to follow her team in Pas-de-Calais.“28 euros for the outward flight to Paris then 28 euros for the train, 70 euros for the return flight from Brussels, 30 euros for the match ticket and 67 euros for accommodationexplains Vanessa. I was only able to get 43 euros refund for the hotel”. She had not at all imagined the travel ban, and had not taken out cancellation insurance. “Obviously there is violence in football, and we all want to eradicate it, but Sevilla fans travel around Europe every year. At the beginning of November we were in London, we walked around, we took the metro with Arsenal fans, and nothing happened, she says. JI will no longer come to see a football match in France. France has generated a feeling of insecurity and of a country incapable of handling 300 Sevilla fans”.

Uncertainty and lost vacations

Like the Seville supporters, finally authorized to attend the meeting after the cancellation by the Council of State of the ministerial decree, the Lens fans experienced a similar mishap in Montpellier during the 15^e day of Ligue 1. Their trip was finally authorized 1h30 before the match kicked off, but the damage was done for Max, a Sang et Or supporter who remained in Pas-de-Calais. “I had been planning to go to the match for three weeks. And then we were lucky that Montpellier was served by Ouigo trains, so the journey was cheaper, but not cancelable. But we were quite calm since it was not possible. “There has never been any particular incident with the Montpellier residents, so we did not take out additional insurance”, he explains. The Lensois supporter, who had to be accommodated with relatives, still lost 80 euros for his trains, 25 euros for a rental car, and a day off taken.

“In addition to the financial cost, with 200 euros flying away, without being reimbursed, there is also stress and uncertainty about the upcoming trip, and potentially lost vacation time”adds Ahmed, a Rennes supporter, who is deprived of the trip to Toulouse, and who wonders if he will be able to go to Clermont on Wednesday. “I booked my train, one night there, and I landed on Tuesday afternoon as well as Wednesday morning. And a few days before, we still don’t know if we will be able to go. Obviously. future, this may push me to give up traveling”he assures.

A raffle to save a section of Lille supporters

Giving up on a trip is what the Dogues Pompons, a section of Lille supporters, were forced to do during the Losc meeting in Ljubljana (Slovenia) in the Europa Conference League. They were not prohibited from traveling, but were financially unable to organize the trip, after having lost 6,000 euros due to the travel ban on Lille residents in Marseille on November 4, a week after the stone crushing of the Lyon bus in Marseille. The small section of 75 members had planned to support their team against OM for many weeks. “We lost 5,000 euros for the bus, and then when we travel, we also provide a small refreshment bar, pastries and lunch baskets for the participants. So the fresh products that we had bought, we gave them to associations, but financially it’s a dead loss”explains Damien Février, the president of the section, who reimbursed the 140 euros paid by each of the 46 participants.

I don’t know if it will make us more cautious about traveling, but more planning yes. We will think twice and probably pay a little more to include cancellation insurance.

Damien February

at franceinfo:sport

After passing “on the verge of going out of business” according to its president, the Lille section was saved by an outpouring of generosity during the raffle it organized. “Losc provided us with five jerseys worn by the players as prizes, and ultimately we collected 3,700 euros, which allows us to get our heads above water and see the future more calmly”, assures Damien Février. The president of the section would like the prefectures or the ministry to set up a compensation fund for supporters who are prohibited from traveling. “We are also thinking about the follow-up and we do not rule out thinking about possible prosecutions”, he adds. On the side of the National Supporters Association, which defends the rights of football fans, “no recourse for compensation has been carried out, but we cannot exclude that supporters decide so individually”assures his lawyer, Maître Pierre Barthélémy.