As of Wednesday evening, incidents took place in Marseille between Greek supporters and OM fans.

They continued Thursday before the kick-off of the first leg of the Europa League Conference (C4), won by the Marseille club (2-1), then inside the Stade Vélodrome.

Projectiles and seats were thrown on the lawn by Greek supporters, while PAOK and OM fans launched smoke bombs and firecrackers above the safety nets.

Marseille supporters also launched fireworks in the direction of the Greek parking lot and very strong explosions of firecrackers sounded.

A brief crowd movement took place at the bottom of the bend and the police intervened with tear gas in the direction of the Greek fans.

In total, a dozen people were arrested and the police headquarters mentioned Thursday evening about thirty police officers injured, most of them slightly.

"The resolute and professional action of the departmental directorate of public security and CRS and gendarme reinforcements has made it possible to control the hundreds of violent supporters who have come from Greece without the supervision promised by their club or respect for the means, hours and points of appointments to which all visiting teams adhere on the move", wrote Friday the police chief of Bouches-du Rhône, Frédérique Camilleri, in a press release.

"Three weeks of dialogue and written commitments from the opposing club were not enough to prevent violent and gratuitous acts that have nothing to do with sporting fervor," she adds.

"A report will be sent by the police headquarters to UEFA detailing all the difficulties that the local administrative authorities had to face in the context of this match," concludes the prefect.

Questioned by France Bleu Provence, the sports assistant of the mayor of Marseille Sébastien Jibrayel for his part invited the Marseille supporters not to go to Thessaloniki during the return match next Thursday.

"I'm angry at UEFA for allowing these supporters to travel, who are known to everyone and who are very dangerous. They should never have been there," he said.

© 2022 AFP