violent clashes between fans delay kick-off, German fan ‘in absolute urgency’

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Violent clashes between supporters of FC Cologne and OGC Nice broke out in the stands of the Allianz Riviera on Thursday, on the sidelines of the Europa League conference meeting.

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While nearly 8,000 Cologne supporters landed in Nice for the Europa League conference meeting, Thursday September 8, at 6.45 p.m., clashes broke out in the stands of the Allianz Riviera. German fans crossed the stands of the stadium to do battle with Nice supporters, resulting in a postponement of the kick-off of the match at 7:40 p.m. A Cologne fan, who fell 5 meters, is in a state of absolute emergency.

Earlier in the day, thousands of FC Cologne supporters had already degraded Place Massena and the OGC Nice store, covering the streets with their waste. What to attract the wrath of the mayor, Christian Estrosi: “I deplore the uncivil and scandalous behavior of Cologne supporters and the lack of respect for the city which welcomes them in a generous and fraternal way. We will send the invoices related to the damage and cleaning of public spaces to the Cologne club”.

Upon their arrival at the stadium, German supporters crossed the stands to do battle with the people of Nice, with throwing of projectiles, smoke bombs, and blows exchanged. An FC Cologne fan is hospitalized in absolute emergency. “The man fell five meters between the first and second level of the stands”explained Benoît Huber, chief of staff to the prefect of the Alpes-Maritimes, to AFP.

To disperse the crowd, the police used tear gas and then the captains of each team were called upon to call for calm. After a crisis meeting, the UEFA authorities and the local authorities decided to postpone the kick-off to 7:40 p.m. An announcement on the microphone also told all spectators that at the slightest additional incident, the match will be stopped.


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