These police officers of the public order unit and of the BAC of Saint-Etienne were targeted by projectiles launched by supporters of Olympique de Marseille, in particular pieces of concrete, and were victims of bruises on their hands and lower limbs, sprain and malleolus fracture, the source said.
According to the police, shortly after 7:30 p.m., Marseille supporters wanted to get off the buses before they reached the secure parking place reserved for visitors. The police then intervened using a water cannon and firing tear gas canisters. The gas clouds caused an interruption in the players’ warm-up, as well as the delay in the kick-off of the match, of about fifteen minutes.
In a statement published in the evening, OM said that the coaches of its supporters had “been the target of hooded individuals who violently attacked them”. Arrived in the parking lot of the stadium, “our supporters were confined on the spot and underwent jets of multiple objects from the Stéphanois supporters and particularly violent reactions from the police who used tear gas, a cannon but also obviously flash balls, “wrote OM.
But at the end of the meeting, the Loire prefecture said that “it quickly became apparent that many Marseille supporters were in possession of objects that could be used as projectiles and weapons by destination”. “These elements risked seriously compromising the security of the match. It was therefore decided to prohibit access to the Geoffroy Guichard stadium to the Marseille supporters and to return them to their hometown without waiting for the end of the match”, a she added.
The visitor area, the number of which had been limited to 400 by prefectural decree, therefore remained empty. And around 9:45 p.m. OM supporters left in their buses, under the escort of the police.