A late winner, then a pyrotechnic show
Augustine Boakye scored the only goal of Saint-Etienne’s home game with Nantes late on Saturday, and the Kop Nord answered with fireworks and flares. The Magic Fans were marking their 35th anniversary. Referee Gael Angoula had to stop play as the game moved toward added time, and some Saint-Etienne players walked toward the stand to ask the supporters to stop.
The crowd of 37,310 loved it. The club’s directors did not. Their reported frustration is that the group had been reminded in preparation meetings that smoke bombs and fireworks are strictly banned.
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What the club is doing about it
RMC Sport reports that the club opened an internal inquiry on Tuesday to establish how the material got into the stand. The review is expected to lead to a rethink of how supporters are screened at the entrances. Stewards did carry out the standard pat-downs, according to the report, but only police officers can carry out full body searches.
A source close to the club told RMC that knowing a risk exists is not the same as allowing it. The club has not issued a statement, and it did not post the images of the display on its social channels.
A third closure looms
The delegate’s report has logged the incident, and the disciplinary commission is likely to look at it quickly. Saint-Etienne expect sanctions and no longer rule out a closed Kop. It would be the third this season at Geoffroy-Guichard, after the home games with Clermont on 14 August and Grenoble on 22 August were played without the Kops, a punishment carried over from the end of last season for similar events.
The win was the leaders’ fifth in five home league games, so the sporting picture is rosy. The stands are the problem.
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