Supporters overflows in Ligue 1: withdrawal of a suspended point for Lens, Lille and Marseille

Sanctions fall. After the incidents that marked the Lens-Lille and Angers-OM matches following the outbursts of supporters, the disciplinary committee of the Professional Football League (LFP) raged on Wednesday, October 6. The clubs of Lens, Lille and OM received a one point withdrawal suspended in Ligue 1.

For its part, Angers was sanctioned less harshly, with only two games behind closed doors for his Coubertin stand, one of which was suspended. The firm match having already been served, the SCO has also received a fine of 20,000 euros.

These LFP sanctions come after supporters overflowed in the stands during the Lens-Lille meetings on Saturday 18 September, as well as Angers-OM on Wednesday 22 September. For Lens, Lille and Marseille, the withdrawal of a suspended point is accompanied by additional sanctions. For now, Lens has had to play two matches behind closed doors, already purged. For Lille and Marseille, their visitor parking lots are now closed until Friday, December 31, 2021 during away matches.

According to Jacques Cardoze, the director of communication of the OM, these sanctions of the LFP appear « very severe, both the withdrawal of the suspended sentence and the travel ban for our supporters ». He adds in particular that « the match has come to an end » and « that no injuries were recorded ». The Lens club, meanwhile, welcomed the « lucidity » of the disciplinary committee in a press release.

Since the start of the season, this is the third time that OM have been concerned by this type of incident. During the Montpellier-Marseille match (2-3) in early August, the game was interrupted for a few minutes because of projectiles thrown on the lawn. Midfielder Valentin Rongier suffered a lip injury.

Then on Sunday August 22, during Nice-OM, serious excesses had taken place. The match was interrupted in the 75th minute. During this incident, Dimitri Payet was hit by a bottle thrown from a stand. The meeting will be replayed on Friday October 27 on neutral ground in Troyes.

For Sébastien Deneux, the chairman of the disciplinary committee of the LFP, this decision to impose a suspended point withdrawal on three clubs is a way « to engage the responsibility of all actors, clubs as groups of supporters ».

For OM, the closure of the parking reserved for its away supporters concerns the matches played in Clermont, Lyon, Nantes and Strasbourg. The same sanction will affect the LOSC when it travels to Clermont, Paris, Monaco, Rennes and Bordeaux.