An apocalyptic aftermath. Tried last week before the Saint-Etienne Criminal Court, eleven ASSE supporters were sentenced on Wednesday to two to five stadium bans. Prosecuted for violence that occurred on May 29, after the play-off match between Saint-Etienne and AJ Auxerre, they also received suspended prison sentences ranging from two months to one year, revealed Progress.
That evening, ASSE played its last card against the Burgundians. At stake: staying in Ligue 1 after a disastrous season. But the Greens lose in the penalty shootout and switch to Ligue 2.
“We freaked out”
At the final whistle, hundreds of people then invaded the lawn of the Geoffroy-Guichard stadium, throwing numerous smoke bombs in the direction of the field and smashing the billboards installed at the edge of the lawn. Unleashed, they seize the metal barriers to project them on the CRS posted at the bottom of the official platform in order to block access to the changing rooms. The violence continued outside the sports arena for a good part of the evening.
“Our love club sank, we freaked out,” one of the defendants justified himself at the bar, while another, business manager and father of a family, agreed that he was not inculcating these values to his son or his employees. Pleading “an excess of passion”, a “coup of madness”, the supporters keep a low profile. All have acknowledged the facts, with the exception of the president of the Magic Fans, specifies the regional daily.