Safety nets placed in Lyon to avoid crowd disturbance

LYON, France (AP) — Safety nets will be placed in front of two sections at the stadium in Lyon for a Champions League match to prevent supporters from throwing projectiles at players.

Following frequent crowd trouble in recent seasons, Lyon says ahead of Wednesday's match against German club Hoffenheim that the measure will be experimented to avoid "any action likely to trigger sanctions" from UEFA.

Earlier this year, UEFA ordered Lyon to play its first Champions League home game of the season in an empty stadium as punishment for crowd disorder and racism during last season's Europa League. European soccer's ruling body deferred a second stadium closure for a two-year probationary period, and fined Lyon 100,000 euros ($116,000).