Described as "absolute urgency" by the president of the Professional Football League (LFP), Vincent Labrune, the case was taken over by the government in response to new excesses that occurred this weekend, including the stoppage of the match Lyon-Marseille for a plastic bottle throw at a player.

"We have agreed to work together on four subjects", explained Gérald Darmanin who received in Beauvau the leaders of French football, the presidents of clubs as well as the ministers of Justice, Eric Dupond-Moretti, and of Sports, Roxana Maracineanu. .

While the public authorities are once again looking at a problem they have been stumbling over for years, Gérald Darmanin proposes to work in four directions.

These are first of all stadium bans for offending supporters, and "the issue of securing the stadiums itself", he detailed.

The minister then referred to as a worksite "the issue of private security" in the stadiums: some stadiums could be better trained and the control of access to the stadium reinforced.

"Finally, the question undoubtedly the most important Sunday, the decision-making process of who stops a match" with the respective roles of the referee, "essential" according to the minister, and of the prefect, "since there is a question public order, ”he added.

For his part, Vincent Labrune "thanked the government for its responsiveness", affirming that French football "presented itself in a united, united and determined manner".

"Absolute urgency"

"It is an absolute emergency, we are aware of our responsibilities," he said.

The debate about security in football stadiums is not new;

what is is the frequency of the overflows.

Initiated in August with Nice-OM (throwing projectiles, invasion of land and general brawl), the slippages accumulated until Sunday, leading the government to react.

OM playmaker Dimitri Payet hit by a bottle of water when taking a corner in front of the Lyon ko at Parc OL, November 21, 2021 in Décines-Charpieu PHILIPPE DESMAZES AFP / Archives

"It's good, the government had to react and quickly. We must mark the occasion to stop this cycle," analyzes a source close to the authorities of French football.

"The handling of the file at a higher level, it will have an impact because the supporters will see that everyone is aligned," corroborates a French football leader on condition of anonymity.

The sporting response, as well as the judicial one, did not take long.

The disciplinary committee of the Professional Football League (LFP) decided on Monday to sanction Lyon with a closed-door match as a precautionary measure.

The author of the throwing of the bottle was arrested on Sunday and placed in police custody.

He was to be referred Tuesday for a judgment in immediate appearance, according to the Lyon prosecutor's office.

And the targeted player, Dimitri Payet, for his part lodged a complaint.

"Amply sufficient laws"

The political response was therefore missing, after a semblance of a response in September in the form of a ministerial letter addressed to the LFP.

"It's going to be difficult to get concrete answers right now," tempered a source close to the mysteries of French football, anticipating Gerald Darmanin's announcements.

For several years, and in particular since 2016 and the Larrivé law, which has strengthened the power of clubs in maintaining order in their stadiums, most players have considered that the legislative arsenal is sufficient.

"The laws are very numerous and amply sufficient. The problem is to properly stem the phenomenon because it tends to be renewed", estimates Dominique Bodin, sociologist specializing in issues of violence in stadiums, teacher-researcher in Paris-Est Créteil.

French football players gathered around Interior Ministers Gerald Darmanin, Sports Roxana Maracineanu and Justice Eric Dupond-Moretti in Paris, November 23, 2021 JULIEN DE ROSA AFP

What more can the authorities do?

"It is played at the club level, more really at the level of the legislator", assures a specialist in the maintenance of order.

The question arose on Sunday about the safety nets that could have prevented projectiles from reaching the players when they go for a corner.

There are none in the Lyon stadium, while the clubs have full latitude to install them.

This did not prevent the president of OL Jean-Michel Aulas to consider that the stadium was "hyper-secure".

© 2021 AFP