The attack on a family supporting Marseille during the Ligue 1 FC Nantes-OM match on Friday evening at the Beaujoire stadium triggered the opening of an investigation into “intentional violence in a meeting, with the use or threat of ‘a weapon, in a sports arena,’ said Nantes public prosecutor Renaud Gaudeul. A 39-year-old man suffered a heart attack in the stands, then hospitalized in intensive care, after being attacked by a group of Nantes supporters on the grounds that he was encouraging Marseille with his 6-year-old son.
The family reports having been targeted by insults, spitting and throwing of projectiles. “Violence with weapons corresponds to the throwing of bottles denounced, the bottles being legally qualified as weapons by destination”, specifies Renaud Gaudeul.
The father’s wife filed a complaint, as did the FC Nantes club via its security director. For its part, the Professional Football League (LFP) has indicated that it will seize its disciplinary committee. The FCN risks a heavy sanction. In addition to the violence reported, several witnesses denounced the inaction of the stewards close to the scene on Friday evening.