Warm atmosphere, Sunday evening, before the start of the match at the top of the league 1: Om-Nice. To the sound of Jump, the 64,000 supporters of the Vélodrome brandish the tifos. In the south bend, among the ultras of the South Winners, smoke bombs ignite (despite prohibitions). One of them is thrown into the crowd. It lands on Zadig’s face, a young supporter. The pyrotechnic device burned eternal seconds against his neck.
“My scalp is all burned. I lost a lot of hair.” Zadig, second degree burns
The 22-year-old student was quickly taken care of by the stewards. On site, the Red Cross rescuers carried out first aid, before transferring her to the emergency room, to Saint-Joseph hospital. The young woman has second degree burns. neck, right ear and hand. “My scalp is all burned. I lost a lot of hair. And even when I took off my earring, I saw that the metal had melted. I thought I lost my ear” she says, her face covered with bandages.
Extremely shocked, Zadig didn’t sleep all night. “The trauma is enormous. Burned alive, it’s horrible, I don’t wish that on anyone. And above all there were children around me, it could have fallen on them” she said in a scratchy voice. She breathed in a lot of smoke.
She did note some security flaws in the stands and at the entrance to the stadium. But she assures “I don’t blame the club or South Winners, I know they are doing what they can to make sure everything goes well.” She wants to file a complaint against the person who threw the smoke bomb. By a tweet, she thanks, the Winners, the club of supporters who wish to do everything possible to find the culprit.
As a loyal supporter, Zadig regrets having missed OM’s victory. But above all, she regrets having lost her favorite jersey “He burned everything. It was a shirt that belonged to my brother before. It was from the year 1999, the year of the club’s centenary. And it was above all a symbolic shirt because 1999 is the year of my birth. The guy, if I find him, he buys him back from me”. The culprit risks more than just a jersey refund. For deliberately endangering the lives of others, he faces one year in prison and a fine of 15,000 euros.