Lille supporters are paying for the serious incidents that occurred last Sunday before the “Olympico” between Olympique de Marseille and Olympique Lyonnais at the Vélodrome stadium (match ultimately postponed to December 6). They, who were supposed to be 250 in the visitor park of the Marseille den, will not even make the trip to the Marseille city. On the eve of the match between the Olympians and the Mastiffs as part of the 11th day of Ligue 1, the Ministry of the Interior took the decision to prohibit the travel of Lille fans to the Canebière.
This government decision was not to the taste of Northerners. The latter did not fail to react, through 18 groups of supporters, and made their dissatisfaction known in a press release, relayed by Losc shortly after.
“Many Lille supporters are already there (Marseille is not next door), finding themselves blocked in the face of this repressive decision. A situation which strongly reminds us of the excesses seen during the last Ajaccio-Bordeaux and the last minute closure of the visitor parking lot. Can’t our authorities learn from their mistakes?”
The Dogues do not stop there and denounce “scandalous methods”. According to them, “the application of collective ban measures cannot and must not become the norm.” They also express their “exasperation at being considered second-class citizens. We strongly condemn the delay chosen in order to warn us, a delay which penalizes many people who have incurred significant costs to cross France and go to the Marseille city. We hope that one day you will reasonably open your eyes to the proper organization of supporter travel, in dialogue, intelligence and dignity.”