Growing up in France, Sèbastien Louis fell in love with the Olympique de Marseille football team.

Eventually he became part of the club's ultras.

Today, as a trained historian, he has immersed himself in football's most dedicated - and controversial - supporter culture.

- Studying ultras is like understanding society.

It is a reflection of the culture, politics and the social in society.

It is incredibly interesting, not least in the Arab world, says Sèbastien Louis.

The exhibition at the Mediterranean Museum runs throughout 2022 and depicts how football supporters in North Africa and parts of the Middle East played an important role in the fight for democracy during the Arab Spring ten years ago.

"The visitor must draw his own conclusions"

Together with the Italian photographer Giovanni Ambrosio, Sèbastien Louis visits football stadiums around the world to document ultrasound groups and get in touch with the people behind typhoons and rhymes.

There is a destructive side of ultras as well, with examples of violence and racism.

Do you reflect on it?  

- Yes, that's part of what we show.

But it is complex.

Sure, there is a violent side to ultras, but there is also that in the rest of society.

We do not do this from a moral perspective, but the visitor must draw their own conclusions, says Sèbastien Louis.

See the whole feature below:

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Wants to nuance the image of ultras - exhibition at the Mediterranean Museum