A club sanctioning its own supporters
Few clubs ever do this. Lens confirmed on Wednesday that no Sang et Or supporters will travel to Lille on Friday (9:05pm local) for the Ligue 1 derby, and that the decision comes from the club itself. The regional prefecture had already signed an order keeping Lens fans out of the stadium, so the club’s own ban lands on top of an official one.
The trigger was last Wednesday’s Champions League trip to Bruges, where a section of the away end set off a large amount of smoke and flares. UEFA has since fined Lens 80,000 euros and banned away fans for the next two European games, with a third suspended.
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“A red line was crossed”
In a statement, Lens said the facts in Bruges went well beyond the usual pyrotechnics. Objects were thrown towards the pitch and into the stands, reaching supporters with reduced mobility, and firecrackers injured a steward. The club’s Handifan section had already complained that fans in wheelchairs were struck and could not clear the area in time.
Lens argues the limit was set jointly with supporter groups last season, after incidents at Metz, Lille, London and Reims. “Une ligne rouge a été franchie,” the club wrote, adding that the aim is to punish and to prevent. It sees Lille as too close to Bruges in symbolic terms to risk a repeat.
The statement also repeats that masked entry to the stadium will not be tolerated, and promises named criminal complaints rather than complaints against unknown persons whenever possible.
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