The disciplinary commission of the FFF wasted no time: after the hearings by videoconference in the morning, the sanctions fell by press release in the afternoon. “The disciplinary commission of the French Football Federation retains the disciplinary responsibility of the two clubs in the incidents which occurred during this meeting”, she affirms beforehand while the presidents of the two clubs returned the ball since December 17th.
Paris FC and OL both lost “by penalty”, which means that Nice, which was to face the winner of this duel, has already qualified for the knockout stages of the Coupe de France. Paris FC also receives a suspension of five firm matches from its home ground, the Charléty stadium, and a fine of 10,000 euros.
Fine of 52,000 euros for OL
The sanctions targeting OL are even heavier with “the closure of the away visitors’ area until the end of the 2021-2022 season”, L1 matches included, “the exclusion of the Coupe de France, with the suspension, from the 2022-2023 edition, “a fine of 52,000 euros and reimbursement of costs related to the repair of damaged seats by its supporters.
The disciplinary committee undoubtedly held against OL that it was the second serious incident involving the Lyon club, after the one against Marseille in Ligue 1, on November 21. The throwing of a full bottle of water on the Marseillais Dimitri Payet and the end of the match after a few minutes had earned OL the withdrawal of one point in the standings. The meeting will have to be replayed behind closed doors. On Friday 17 December, it was at half-time for the Cup match between PFC (L2) and OL, played at the Charléty stadium, that the overflows have taken place.
Two people, a supporter and a policeman injured
Smoke had been launched around the Lyon supporters’ parking lot and fights had broken out in the stands, leading to crowd movements and the deployment of the police. Two people, a supporter and a policeman, were injured. If no arrest took place at the time, three ultra Parisian supporters were then arrested. Two of them will be tried for violence in meetings, we learned last Wednesday from the prosecution which opened an investigation the day after the events.
According to a source familiar with the matter, “the Paris SG ultras could be identified on the videos” of the incidents, while the Lyon ultras “wanted to do battle at Gare de Lyon” upon their arrival in the capital. According to the official report that AFP was able to consult, OL had 14 stewards, two referent supporters (SLO) and its director of security to supervise the 500 supporters in the yard, i.e. one steward for 35 people (the ratio recommended by the FFF in the Coupe de France being one steward for 50 people).
“Radical measures”
After these incidents, Paris FC had called for “radical measures” against violence in the stadiums and promised legal action, while OL had banned its groups of supporters from traveling to away matches. The club had also decided to exclude for 18 months from its own stadium those identified at the Charléty stadium, in filing a complaint against them. The stoppage of the Paris FC-Lyon match is the latest episode in a series of incidents in the French stands since the start of the season.
It occurred the day after a interministerial meeting in which professional football leaders took part. It had led to several measures such as the final stoppage of a match if a player or the referee is attacked and a maximum of 30 minutes to decide whether or not to continue a match. After Paris FC-OL, Sports Minister Roxana Maracineanu asked the president of the FFF, Noël Le Graët, to act firmly. She was heard.