After 17 years, Saint-Etienne’s presence in Ligue 1 has come to an end. Apparently, a lot of fans couldn’t stomach that, which led to the unfortunately familiar scenes after the final whistle. The supporters at ADO Den Haag also stirred.
Saint-Etienne had to play a jump-off against second division Auxerre to save his skin in Ligue 1. It was a dramatic game, which ended in penalties. Ryad Boudebouz was the only one to miss, forcing Saint-Etienne to drop.
For Auxerre it is a return to the highest level after 9 years in purgatory. But that sort of historic musings were ignored by the Saint-Etienne fans as they stormed onto the field after the final penalty kick and started kicking, punching and kicking around.
Some fans had even managed to smuggle in flares, which they fired into the grandstand. The riot police had all the trouble in the world to calm the mood.
Also riots at ADO The Hague
The scenes we saw in Saint-Etienne are unfortunately a familiar image in recent months. Even in the Netherlands, the dolls started dancing in the promotion match between ADO Den Haag and Excelsior (which also ended after penalties) and here too the police had their hands full to restore peace.
