Shocking rise of fan disorder leaves Ligue 1 facing an existential crisis | Paul Doyle

Nine games have been disrupted or abandoned in France’s top flight this term with authorities struggle to stem the rage

This was supposed to be a season of celebration and new acclaim for the French league. Not only would crowds return to stadiums after a year of matches behind closed doors but Lionel Messi’s arrival at Paris Saint-Germain guaranteed unprecedented global interest in Ligue 1. Three months in, France is shocked and embarrassed and the talk among authorities is of an existential crisis.

A wave of fan violence since the start of the season led the president of the Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP), Vincent Labrune, to denounce “a gangrene that could kill us”, while France’s minister of sport, the former swimming champion Roxana Maracineanu, said: “Every time I go to a stadium [to watch a Ligue 1 match] I tell myself it’s a good thing I got my son into rugby rather than football.”

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from Football | The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/football/2021/nov/27/ligue-1-supporters-disorder-violence

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