A Nice supporter was taken into custody for assaulting Marseille player Dimitri Payet during the Sunday football match between Nice and Marseille on the occasion of the third day of Ligue 1, the Nice prosecutor announced on Monday evening.
Xavier Bonhomme, the Nice prosecutor, announced earlier in the day that the Nice prosecutor had opened several judicial inquiries following the incidents at the Allianz Riviera.
These investigations relate in particular to “throwing projectiles posing a danger to the safety of persons in a sports arena”, “serious damage” and “aggravated willful violence committed during a sporting event”.
He faces 3 years in prison
If convicted, the perpetrators risk three years in prison and a fine of 45,000 euros as well as a five-year stadium ban.
“These investigations have been entrusted to the services of the departmental security of the Alpes Maritimes and will aim, after in particular the examination of the video surveillance recordings, to identify the perpetrators of the facts and to determine the responsibility of the incidents between the supporters of the two clubs. as well as that, where applicable, of players or members of the team management involved in acts of violence, “the prosecutor said in a statement.
The match, punctuated by throwing projectiles, was finally interrupted
The match, punctuated by numerous throws of projectiles at the players, was finally interrupted in the 75th minute, after supporters flooded the pitch. Marseille striker Dimitri Payet had just returned a bottle from Nice supporters to a tribune he received as he was about to take a corner.
For its part, the French Professional Football League (LFP) announced in a brief statement that the representatives of the two clubs were convened on Wednesday by its disciplinary committee.
The very recent return of spectators to the stadiums
“Following the serious incidents of the OGC Nice – Olympique de Marseille meeting (…), the Disciplinary Commission of the LFP summons the two clubs for the session of Wednesday, August 25, 2021”, it is indicated in this press release.
Asked about BFMTV, Sports Minister Roxana Maracineanu deplored incidents all the more “regrettable” as the return of spectators to the stadiums is very recent after months of matches behind closed doors due to the health crisis.
“It is intolerable because the first of the conditions for a match to take place is obviously to ensure the safety of the people who are on the field”, which “was clearly not done yesterday in Nice “, she observed.
“There must be penalties for the club in question,” she continued while conceding that in the current context, the closed session had probably lost its deterrent character.
Roxana Maracineanu said she was ready to “reopen” the stadium bans, subject to the investigation allowing “to identify the culprits (…) the people who threw these projectiles and the people who invaded the field and who should have stayed in their place “.
