This Saturday, Rennes fans are expected in large numbers in the Stade Félix Bollaert-Delelis parking lot in Lens for the match between Stade Rennais and RC Lens. The prefect of Pas-de-Calais issued an order this Thursday to supervise the arrival of the many Red and Black fans. Rennes fans will not be able to move or park in the city center of Lens and around the stadium until 7 p.m. on Saturday. A mandatory meeting point has been set rue Marcel Caron in Liévin, before the supporters are escorted to the stadium by the police from 7 p.m.
An order justified by “internal tensions” between the Rennes ultras
But this decree is only vaguely motivated by possible clashes between supporters of the two clubs. To justify his decision, the prefect of Pas-de-Calais cites above all “the existence of recurring internal tensions between independent Rennes supporters and the ultra section of the Roazhon Celtic Kop leading to tensions between the two politically opposed groups“. The prefect also mentions a past clash between the RCK and Rennes independents, joined by the far-right independent group Youth Lens, during a previous trip to Rennes from Lens. Still according to the prefecture, the intelligence services would have made it possible to identify the arrival of the supporters at risk.