Marseille, Sep 12: French authorities in Marseille have ordered a partial ban on alcohol sales and banned Frankfurt fans from travelling on their own ahead of Tuesday’s high-risk Champions League match at the Stade Velodrome.
Less than a week after violent crowd fights marred a match between Nice and Cologne in the Europa Conference League, the likely mass arrival of thousands of Frankfurt supporters in France is raising concerns.
Frankfurt supporters have been allocated 3,300 seats for the game but the club believes that 5,000 additional supporters without tickets, among them hardcore ultras, could visit Marseille.
Frankfurt’s fans often travel in great numbers. To limit the risks of violence, the regional police administration for the Bouches-du-Rhone said the sale of alcoholic beverages will be banned in several districts of the seaport city from 2 pm until 9 pm. (AP)
