The President of the French Football Federation, Frederic Thiriez, has promised to come down hard on those responsible for the incidents that marred the Rhône derby between St Etienne and Olympique Lyon this Saturday.
During the game smoke bombs were lobbed by one side’s cerebrally-orphaned fans at their opposite number, the tension rising until a flare was also thrown into the crowd, prompting the police to launch a volley of tear gas canisters into the fray.
As soon as the gas began drifting back onto the pitch, referee Tony Chapron was forced to stop the game for a full twenty minutes until the atmosphere – literally – was fit to play football. Despite there being no serious injuries Thiriez has promised tough steps.
“What happened at Saint Etienne was profoundly unacceptable and there will be sanctions imposed. Our disciplinary committee is meeting on Thursday to stud the measures to be taken against those responsible”, stressed the stressed exec.
Thiriez also made an appeal for club execs not to heat up matches to boiling point in the run-up to flashpoint derbies like the Rhône derby between Saint Etienne and Olympique Lyon, a jab aimed at Lyon President Jean-Michel Aulas.
The Lyon boss made a rather ill-advised assertion that OL fans were more intelligent than Saint Etienne fans. “I demand more responsible thought and action from club executives who have thoughtlessly sowed hate instead of competitiveness”, warned Thiriez.
Goal.com - St. Etienne To Be Punished For Crowd Trouble Against Lyon
French league in sanctions pledge
wtf is going on in the continent recently?? so much crowd trouble!
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