Numerous Olympique Marseille fans are in Lisbon ahead of the quarter-final first leg at Benfica. Shortly before the game, their tickets were canceled – they were only allowed into the stadium after a lot of effort from fan organizations.
According to their own information, Benfica canceled the away fans’ tickets on Tuesday evening (April 9th, 2024). The club had been warned by the authorities about possible violence from Marseille’s fans, it said in a statement. The first leg is scheduled to take place on Thursday evening (9 p.m.) at the Estadio da Luz in Lisbon.
French authorities had previously banned Benfica fans from attending the second leg. The second leg is next Thursday at the Stade Velodrome in Marseille. “Benfica deeply regrets the decision of the French authorities. They are withdrawing their spirit from European competition,” the club said – and then did the same thing themselves. On Thursday afternoon, the French authorities revoked the travel ban for Portuguese fans, and Benfica also withdrew their measure shortly afterwards – just over four hours before kick-off. Football without fans is not football, wrote Benfica. There is no longer any talk of safety concerns.
According to the regulations, the visiting clubs are each entitled to five percent of the tickets for a UEFA European Cup game. However, national law takes precedence over the association statutes, so bans by the authorities are generally possible. What is new in this case is that Benfica was a club and not an authority that issued the ban.
The Stadium of Light, near Benfica Lisbon
Fan alliance: “This is a retaliatory measure”
“This is a retaliatory measure for the travel ban imposed by the French authorities for the second leg,” said Martin Endemann from the Football Supporters Europe fan alliance in an interview with Sportschau before the measures were withdrawn. “There is no legal or regulatory basis for this. This decision is irresponsible and endangers every fan. It would be safer to grant access to the guest block,” says Endemann. Thousands of fans who booked flights, accommodation and applied for vacation after the draw would have been denied the opportunity to see their team play.
Martin Endemann vom Fanbündnis Football Supporters Europe
The French fan organization AN Supporters contradicted the view in Network Measures had already been taken in France to overturn the decision: “Benfica’s illegal blackmail at the expense of OM fans is not glorious, but shameful.”
Marseille’s president: “Let’s return to reason”
There was also discontent in Marseille. “I cannot accept that our fans, who have made great sacrifices to come to Portugal, are not allowed to enter the stands,” said Pablo Longoria, president of Olympique Marseille. The situation could also contribute to increasing the security risk when OM fans meet in front of the Estadio da Luz. “It is still possible to return to reason and make the right decisions.”
Pablo Longoria, President of Olympique Marseille
The two clubs had already criticized the previous and now withdrawn decision by the Bouche-du-Rhône prefecture not to allow Portuguese fans to the second leg in Marseille in a joint statement. “We appeal to the authorities of both countries to play the quarter-finals of the UEFA Europa League in the presence of the fans of both clubs,” said the two clubs. This was successful, the prefecture announced: “At the request of the Minister of Interior and Overseas, no measures will be taken to prohibit the travel of Benfica Lisbon fans during the match that will take place on April 18 at the Vélodrome stadium.”
After the Naples-Frankfurt precedent, the approach set a precedent
In March 2023, Italian authorities banned Eintracht Frankfurt fans from attending the game at SSC Napoli. It wasn’t the solution to the problem: there were riots in the city between Naples supporters and fans traveling from Frankfurt, most of whom had long since booked flights and hotel accommodations.
Philipp Reschke, board member at Eintracht, said on Hessischer Rundfunk at the time: “Pandora’s box may have been opened here. We hope that this doesn’t set a precedent.” But that’s exactly what happened: AS Roma against Feyenoord, Nice against Basel, Feyenoord against Lazio, Lazio against Feyenoord were cases of fan exclusions and most recently, guest fans were not allowed at Olympique Marseille’s game against Ajax Amsterdam based on official decisions. But unlike the game in Lisbon, the clubs never made these decisions.
UEFA president announced rule change that never happened
After the ban against Frankfurt fans in Naples, UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin also criticized the bans on away fans. “This situation is intolerable and we urgently need to do something about it, because the authorities’ decision is absolutely not correct,” he said on ZDF at the time. “We have to say: If something like that happens, we won’t play there. Quite simply: we will change the rules.” However, the rules have not been changed since then – but the existing regulations have not been enforced either. Because the provision of the guest contingent is the requirement. When asked by Sportschau, UEFA initially did not comment on the current situation in Lisbon.
UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin
However, UEFA was apparently not involved in the outcome of the situation in France. The French fan alliance AN Supporters wrote after the lifting of the measure for the game in Marseille: “We thank UEFA and Olympique Marseille for their very active contribution to resolving this situation.” UEFA later released a statement welcoming the admission of fans. She thanked the fan associations involved for their support, “which led to this positive result”. “We hope for a great atmosphere in both stadiums.”
