Faced with the blocking of access to the visitors’ stand at the Meinau stadium by CRS, Sunday during the 5th day of Ligue 1, Montpellier supporters tried to leave the parking lot where they were blocked by the railway, before to finally be allowed to enter the enclosure during the meeting.
This is one of the images of the weekend. Strasbourg hosted Montpellier on Sunday September 17 at the Meinau stadium for the 5th day of Ligue 1. A confrontation which ended with a score of 2-2, but which did not fail to provoke a reaction. In photos posted on social networks, we could see Montpellier supporters climbing on a railway track in service, outside the Alsatian enclosure.
According to testimonies from fans on the networks, they found themselves, after instructions from the prefecture, “vstrapped between two CRS cordons on a vacant lot” – in this case, the Meinau visitors’ car park – without being able to leave or enter to see the match which was about to start.
No travel ban had been issued by the prefect of Bas-Rhin, Josiane Chevalier, for the meeting. On the other hand, the prefecture had communicated a decree, relayed by the Strasbourg club, earlier in the week to regulate it. This provided that Montpellier supporters would receive a ticket voucher upon their arrival at the stadium, after having been escorted by the police.
“Vehicles on organized trips from Montpellier will be taken into account under compulsory escort at the Total service area in Ostwald – M35 – 67540 Ostwald, on September 17, 2023 at 1:30 p.m. maximum”, thus clarified the text. A location located approximately five kilometers from the enclosure.
Locked up without access to a water point
Alerted to the situation, the National Association of Supporters (ANS) reacted immediately on X (formerly Twitter), explaining “make phone calls to all the relevant authorities” to try “to find a solution”. “We were able to get in touch with the National Division for the Fight against Hooliganism (DNLH) but also the Strasbourg club, via its supporters representative who made himself very available. specifies Kilian Valentin, the spokesperson for the ANS.
“The Montpellier residents had a meeting point to which a very large majority, of the hundred or so supporters present, did not go. The Prefect was unhappy that the meeting was not respected and did not not authorized the supporters to leave the visitors’ car park, seeking to send them back to Montpellier.”
Kilian Valentin, spokesperson for the ANSat franceinfo: sport
Locked up without access to a water point despite the intense heat, the supporters wanted to go out, arguing to the prefecture that by failing to show up at the indicated point, they had not gone to town. “create trouble” and preferred to go to the visitors’ stand “to show that they were able to behave well, without being infantilized”adds Kilian Valentin.
Blocked by the police, and missing “information on temporality”, the Montpellier residents then headed towards the railway tracks to get out of this enclosed space. An approach which pushed the prefecture to react, while Racing, after having brought water to the fans, “played along by saying he was ready to welcome them, as there was no problem to note”.
“The danger represented by the railway line with the passing trains, the various phone calls and the position of the Strasbourg club led the Prefect to let the Montpellier supporters in”, specifies the spokesperson. Contacted, then contacted several times, the Bas-Rhin prefecture did not respond to our requests.
After around fifteen minutes of play on the Meinau lawn, all of the MHSC ultras were able to access their stand. The Strasbourg supporters showed, in their own way, their support for the Hérault residents by not starting any entertainment or singing until they had returned.