a Lyon supporter suspected of having hit a woman during the broadcast of the match on the big screen at the Lyon stadium – Libération

A man is suspected of having hit and tried to tear off the veil of a woman who came to watch the live broadcast of the match between OL and PSG at Groupama Stadium, near Lyon. This violence comes in addition to a brawl between supporters on the sidelines of the meeting which was held this Saturday in Villeneuve d’Ascq, near Lille.

Images of the attack have been circulating on social networks since Monday, May 27. We can see a man, dressed in the colors of Olympique Lyonnais, in the front row of a crowd gathered against a barrier in front of a giant screen. The French Cup final between OL and PSG (1-2) was broadcast on the big screen this Saturday, May 25. On the occasion of a goal scored by Olympian central defender Jake O’Brien in the fifty-fifth minute of play, the man seemed to take advantage of the moment of jubilation to deliver large and violent elbows towards a woman placed to his right. Some of the movements even touching his head.

According to the “Her Game too” association this Monday, May 27, two young women wearing a headscarf and who came to watch the broadcast of the Coupe de France final that evening were actually violently attacked inside the Lyon stadium. Several testimonies on social networks from supporters present on site also report this attack and indicate that at least one man tried to tear off the veil from one of them.

I’m taking advantage of this tweet to explain to you how ashamed I was to be an OL supporter last night at Groupama: we arrive quite early with my girlfriend to have a seat against the barriers for the giant screen. Behind us sit three guys, nothing unusual so far. https://t.co/j0KojlgbCs

— Alta  (@AlTaRoXxx) May 26, 2024

In response, the club issued a press release on Monday, explaining that it “strongly” condemned “unacceptable behavior” and assured that it “will support all victims in their complaint by becoming a civil party alongside them”. “No form of violence has any place in a stadium,” the “Her Game Too” France association, dedicated to the fight against sexism in the stands, reacted on X (formerly Twitter). The most upset victim, a 24-year-old supporter living in the Lyon metropolitan area, intends to file a complaint as soon as possible according to Anoush Morel, the president of “Her game too” France.

A brawl between supporters

The meeting, relocated this season due to work at the Stade de France before the Paris 2024 Olympics, was held at the Pierre Mauroy stadium in Villeneuve-d’Ascq near Lille. A brawl between traveling supporters took place in the middle of the A1 motorway, before the match, near the Fresnes-lès-Montauban toll station (Pas-de-Calais), a few dozen kilometers from the meeting place. In particular, a bus was burned and 30 supporters, as well as eight police officers, were slightly injured. Emmanuel Macron, who attended the meeting, condemned these facts “with the greatest firmness”.

This match was ranked 5 on a scale of 5 by the National Division for the Fight against Hooliganism. 1,000 police officers and gendarmes were mobilized to secure the meeting and 1,000 others inside the stadium, indicates the Pas-de-Calais prefecture.