a Lyon fan denounces “Islamophobic and racist” comments from other OL supporters

“I heard ‘dirty shit’, ‘dirty Arab’, ‘shit Muslim’, ‘France for the French'”testifies Tuesday October 31 on franceinfo David*, a Lyon supporter present in the visitors’ parking lot, Sunday evening at the Vélodrome stadium during the match between Olympique de Marseille and Olympique Lyonnais.

This match has been canceled after serious incidents, notably against the Lyon players’ bus. Also a victim of stones near the stadium, David witnessed the racist remarks of certain other Lyon supporters. This supporter saw a group of Lyon supporters equipped with “lots of French flags” who sang The Marseillaise “between 15 and 20 times”.

“According to them: ‘In Marseille we are not in France’, ‘Marseille there are blacks and Arabs in the stands’ or Marseille is Algeria or Africa.'”

David*, Lyon supporter

at franceinfo

He’s talking about “50, 100 or 150 people active in racist and xenophobic things like this”. He claims to have heard several insults. “There was also a person who stopped a CRS who was not very far away to tell him ‘we are with you, we have to fuck these bougnouls”continues David*.

An investigation for “provocation of racial hatred” opened

There was “a lot of Islamophobic and racist things”, adds the supporter. Olympique Lyonnais condemned, Monday October 30, “unacceptable racist behavior” observed among club supporters on Sunday evening in the visitor stands at the Vélodrome stadium in Marseille. The Marseille prosecutor announced on Monday the opening of an investigation for “provocation of racial hatred” targeting Lyon supporters who uttered monkey cries and made Nazi salutes in the stadium.

Two other investigations have been opened for violence with weapons in meetings, for the stone-breaking of the bus where the Lyon players and staff were, and concerning the attack on four supporters’ buses.

*The first name has been changed