On social networks, the National Association of Supporters (ANS) deliberately shared the news in Spanish. “The Council of State has suspended the ministerial and prefectural decrees. Sevilla supporters can now go to Lens and the stadium,” announced the association on the social network champions.
The ANS had filed an appeal, alongside Sevilla FC, after the Pas-de-Calais prefecture banned, on Monday, by decree, the travel of Sevilla FC supporters, a decision strongly contested by the Spanish club.
In this decree confirming announcements made on Sunday by the Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, the State services prohibited “any person claiming to be a supporter of Sevilla FC (…) from accessing the Bollart-Delelis stadium of Lens and its surroundings”, in an area including Lens and Arras.
Fear of “overflows”
The prefecture justified this decision in particular by the “overflows” and the “clashes” which had taken place during previous trips by Andalusian fans, and recalled that “this meeting is identified as risky by the National Division for the Fight against Hooliganism”. “Since the start of 2023, the travel of football club supporters has very frequently been a source of disturbances to public order,” insisted the prefecture.
This ban follows in particular the death of a Nantes supporter during an altercation on December 2, before a Ligue 1 match between FC Nantes and Nice, the latest episode in a series of very violent incidents in margin of football matches in France in recent months.
The president of the Sevillian club, José Castro, described this ban as “a true atrocity that limits the rights of Europeans”. “In a competition like this, it should be played on the pitch,” complained the coach of the Andalusian club Diego Alonso at a press conference in the evening. We do not agree with this decision. »
Sevilla FC had announced, in a press release, “to present an urgent appeal, with the National Association of French Supporters” against this measure, affirming that the club would “put into action all its legal and diplomatic capacities” to overturn this decision. For its part, the Spanish Embassy in Paris expressed its “concern to the French authorities because the interests of Spanish citizens could be harmed”.