France must boost stadium security urgently, says minister

[November 23, 2021] 

PARIS (Reuters) - France must urgently step up security measures at its soccer stadiums, the country's Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said on Tuesday following a meeting with Sports Minister Roxana Maracineanu after the latest outbreak of fan violence.

French Sports Minister Roxana Maracineanu poses after an interview with Reuters in her office at the Ministry headquarters in Paris, France, May 3, 2021. REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier

Darmanin said French authorities would be examining areas such as imposing bans on supporters and stadiums, having more surveillance cameras around venues, and clarifying who would have the authority to cancel games in case of fan violence.

Darmanin's meeting came after Sunday's game between Olympique Lyonnais and Olympique Marseille was abandoned due to crowd violence.

The disciplinary commission of the French League (LFP) on Monday said that Lyon would play their Ligue 1 home games behind closed doors until it rules on the incident on Dec. 8 after an investigation.

"We need to reach conclusions to make sure we can prevent such things happening again, so that football remains a popular event," Darmanin told reporters.

(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Shrivathsa Sridhar)

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