No away fans in French leagues

26 November 2015 01:31

French Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 matches will be played without away supporters for a second successive weekend on government orders in the wake of the Paris attacks.

The French football league - the LFP - also said the ruling is set to apply for the subsequent three rounds of Ligue 1 games, the next two rounds of Ligue 2 fixtures, along with matches in the Coupe de France, Champions League and Europa League.

It means travelling fans will be able to attend games again on December 18-20, the final weekend before the French game goes on its Christmas break.

A lack of available police for handling the movement of fans led to the ruling, with France in a state of emergency after the terrorism attacks on November 13, and with the COP21 climate change conference in Paris from November 30 to December 11 demanding high security.

On its website, the LFP announced: "The Interior Ministry today published an order forbidding the movement of visiting supporters for the entirety of the matches in the 15th matchday in Ligue 1 and the 16th matchday in Ligue 2 which take place this weekend.

"Another order, following the same forbiddance, will be very soon published for the 16th, 17th and 18th matchdays in Ligue 1, the 17th and 18th matchdays in Ligue 2, the eighth round of the Coupe de France (December 5-6) and the matches which take place in France on the final day of the Champions League and Europa League (December 8-10)."

The latter ruling means Shakhtar Donetsk supporters will be unable to attend their match at Paris St Germain on December 8, while in the Europa League two days later Bordeaux's game against Rubin Kazan and St Etienne's fixture against Lazio will be played without away fans.

Monaco are due to play at Tottenham on December 10, and it remains to be seen whether the ruling may affect their travelling fans in any way.

The LFP statement said: "These decisions are justified by the lack of availability of mobile forces during the period of the state of emergency and by the holding of the COP21."

Source: PA