Marseille to close sections of Stade Velodrome due to fan behavior

By foxsports
Published

PARIS --

Marseille has been ordered to close sections of the Velodrome stadium for its next league match following crowd trouble last weekend.

The French league discipline commission issued the provisional sanction on Thursday after a meeting with Marseille officials. A final decision is to be made on Oct. 15, with the club having just one home game scheduled by then, against Angers on Sunday.

Marseille was sanctioned for its fans' behavior during last Sunday's 1-1 draw with Lyon. The match was suspended for about 20 minutes in the second half after fans threw projectiles including glass bottles onto the pitch. Marseille striker Michy Batshuayi was hit by a fire bomb and police forces were deployed in front of the Marseille kop before the match restarted.

Marseille fans also caused widespread indignation in French media after they hung an effigy of former player Mathieu Valbuena, who was booed during the whole game on his return to the southern club.

With the 2016 European Championship to be held in France next year, Sports secretary Thierry Braillard called for tougher security checks in stadiums after the incidents.

Marseille president Vincent Labrune has already announced that safety nets separating Marseille fans from the pitch will be reintroduced.