The prefecture of Corse-du-Sud announced on Saturday morning the creation of a fan zone for the approximately 600 Marseille supporters expected for the Ligue 1 Ajaccio-OM match and their ban on entering the city after incidents in the center. from Ajaccio on Friday evening. The mayor of the city, Stéphane Sbraggia, had asked Friday evening for the cancellation of the match so that the supporters, most of whom are due to arrive on Saturday, do not “expose themselves to a risk of violence which is already present and which could take a uncontrollable extent”.
The prefecture finally chose to issue a new decree to prohibit “any person claiming to be a supporter and arrived by sea or air, from moving” to Ajaccio or Grosseto-Prugna. While waiting for the match as part of the 38th and last day of Ligue 1, scheduled for 9 p.m., they will have to go to Ricanto beach near the airport where “a reception system is organized”.
Two municipal decrees and a prefectural decree had already been taken in particular to prohibit them from accessing the center of Ajaccio, where a local festival is also held. But on Friday, incidents opposed supporters, especially near a hotel where Marseille residents were staying. “There was one arrest and four minor injuries,” police said.
Around the establishment, where the damage is significant, “there was a brawl between two groups with provocations. Thirty-five Marseille supporters were in the hotel in a defensive position with people attacking them,” police said. The police fired tear gas to disperse them and calm returned around midnight. On Saturday evening, “it is absolutely vital that the Fishermen’s Party is over at the end of the match”, police still insist. On the occasion of Saint Erasmus, patron saint of fishermen, a family and popular festival takes place every year on the port of the city for three days.
