Seventeen people were arrested during the incidents which broke out between supporters and the police in a tense atmosphere on Thursday on the sidelines of the OM-Feyenoord Rotterdam match, the authorities announced on Friday.

Most of the supporters arrested were arrested for violence against a person holding public authority, and most are Marseilles, a police source said.

The others were arrested for violence, attempted intrusion into the stadium, degradation or possession of smoke bombs.

The police used tear gas several times during the evening, including when the public left the Vélodrome stadium around 11 p.m., observed AFP journalists on the spot.

Police remained around the Marseille sports enclosure until 1 a.m.

Bars and pubs closed, "due to insecurity"

The meeting, classified as “level 5” – the maximum level in terms of security – by the authorities, generated chaos in Marseille from the end of the afternoon.

From 6 p.m., traffic jams completely blocked the avenue du Prado leading to the stadium, for three hours, until kick-off.

In the city center, most bars and pubs usually broadcasting the matches were closed, "due to insecurity", they displayed on their storefronts.

Wednesday, the day before the meeting, a semi-final second leg of the Europa League Conference ended in a 0-0 draw and the elimination of the Olympians, the Old Port had indeed been the scene of violent incidents between supporters of the two clubs, with Dutch people coming in large numbers.

Twenty people were arrested.

A "fan zone" to welcome Feyenoord supporters

To avoid repeating the incidents between supporters observed during the quarter-final between OM and the Greeks of PAOK Salonika, the authorities had planned on Thursday to regroup the Dutch before the meeting, in a "fan zone" on the beach of the Prado.

But violent storms, and in particular hail, completely disrupted this system, and many Feyenoord fans ended up going to the stadium without using the buses normally provided, in apparently reduced numbers, testified Dutch journalists, deploring the lack of authorities' reaction to the weather.

In the stadium, Feyenoord supporters attacked journalists, throwing coins, smoke bombs, and even pieces of seats torn from their stands, according to testimonies collected on the spot.

During the second half of the match, the police present in the enclosure also had to intervene with tear gas against the parking lot bringing together some 3,200 Dutch supporters, while they threw smoke bombs.

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OM - Feyenoord: Despite the elimination, the Marseillais must "quickly turn the page" for Ligue 1

Twenty supporters arrested after clashes in Marseille

  • Marseilles

  • Soccer

  • Violence

  • OM

  • Feyenoord

  • Support

  • Interpellation

  • Paca

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