Coupe de France: OL accuses

OL issued a press release this Sunday to give its version of the violent incidents which broke out on the road to the Pierre-Mauroy stadium on Saturday, before the Coupe de France final.

Chaos. On the sidelines of the Coupe de France final between OL and PSG, football suffered the worst again: violent clashes in the middle of the motorway, on the A1, at the Fresnes-lès toll station. Montauban, not far from Arras and a few kilometers from the Pierre-Mauroy stadium in Villeneuve-d’Ascq.

The results are deplorable. The Northern prefecture reports “ 30 supporters injured, including 14 requiring medical treatment “. Eight police officers were also injured in the clashes. And four coaches were damaged, including one burned after smoke was thrown into the passenger compartment. The fire also spread to barriers and toll booths.

The police targeted by OL

This Sunday, Bertrand Gaume, the prefect of the Hauts-de-France region and the Nord department, recalls in a press release that “ the bus trips of supporters of the two clubs were escorted by the police and the gendarmerie. » However, it is precisely this device which is the subject of criticism from OL today.

“ Olympique Lyonnais recalls that the buses chartered by KOP Virage Nord supporters went to the correct meeting point for the police escort, where they were taken care of by the police, with , for some, delay following a traffic accident during departure. For reasons yet to be determined, the police escort decided to pass seven Lyon coaches among the eighteen Parisian coaches gathered at the Fresnes toll booth, while for two months, all stakeholders had been working on the separation of flows. », denounces the Lyon club in a press release.

The CUP also has its version of the facts

For the Gones, this is a “ obvious error of route ”, OL believing moreover that “ violence broke out without the origin being clearly established “. “ We hope that the video surveillance images will make it possible to trace all the facts. Several OL supporters were injured, notably by armed PSG supporters. A Lyon bus was set on fire after smoke bombs were thrown inside. »

If PSG did not officially react, the Collectif Ultras Paris (CUP) did so, with yet another version of the facts. “ A first Parisian bus is attacked by a Lyon bus, a bus which should never have been on this road, because as the authorities predicted, it was exclusively reserved for Parisian supporters “. The group of Parisian supporters also assures that its members had to “ defend yourself to put the Lyonnais to flight “.