After the storm, anger. After a black Thursday, the city of Nice is still stunned by the serious incidents that took place during the Europa League Conference match between OGC Nice and FC Cologne (1-1). From the afternoon, Nice suffered hell within its own streets, before the excesses continued at the stadium. The balance sheet is terrible with 32 people injured, including a man who fell 5 meters but whose vital prognosis is no longer engaged.
Christian Estrosi, the mayor of the city, quickly stepped up to the plate. If he was not in favor of maintaining the match, he was ultimately not heard by UEFA who feared greater excesses. “There was a lot of damage. Our tagged trams, broken bus shelters, the damaged statue of Apollo and rubbish all over the city… The damage has not yet been assessed but we are starting with tens of thousands of euros: I will send the invoice to the Cologne club . Not to mention the violence. A supporter who makes a huge fall, throws bottles, etc. I have seen children crying in anguish. I saw a lot of broken city things. I love football but there, what a shame, it disgusts me! “, he explains for Nice-Matin.
As of Thursday evening, the management of OGC Nice admitted to being “stunned by this surge of violence”. She strongly condemned the violence before expressing “her grief for the public of Nice, witness and victim of these incidents. »
On RMC, Anthony Borré, the first deputy of the city returned to these incidents: “I am extremely angry. Indeed, it’s not just the pre-match, there’s also all afternoon, incivilities, tags on the OGC Nice store, these thousands of cans and bottles of beer in the city … We will send the invoice to the Cologne club. “And to continue:” I want to salute the dignity of the Nice supporters who did not overreact in the face of unprecedented aggressiveness and violence. We were for the cancellation of the match, UEFA decided otherwise. »
In Germany, we also deplore these incidents. Like Christian Keller, the general manager of FC Cologne: “Nice hooligans have invaded our fan block. Then hooligans from our fan block, mostly Parisians and disguised as Cologne supporters, burst into the Nice block. The people who did that, there aren’t 100 on each side. But what happened here is perverse. Everything was ready for a very good football match. What followed was a disaster and really pissed me off.”
As for the assistant coach, Andre Pawlak was also amazed: “I can’t find the words. I have never experienced anything like this in Cologne and I never want to experience it either…”
