Europa League: Lazio fans barred from travelling to Marseille due to regular 'violent behaviour'

Paris: Supporters of Serie A side Lazio have been barred from travelling to Marseille for Thursday’s Europa League group match by France’s Minister of the Interior due to regular “violent behaviour by some of their fans”. The Minister, Gerald Darmanin, said groups of the Lazio faithful had persistently caused trouble not only around the stadia but also in city centres. Marseille supporters were barred from the match in Rome on 21 October. The banning of the fans is hoped to prevent a repeat of the violence that took place when Marseille hosted Turkish side Galatasaray on 30 September. Several fans of both teams were arrested for throwing projectiles and “32 members of the security forces were injured.” “Individuals or groups of supporters of Lazio are forbidden to travel to Marseille,” read the order signed by Darmanin. The ministry justified the ban due to the “violent behaviour of certain supporters” of Lazio “which regularly happens around stadia and in city centres where the matches are taking place” and cited Lazio fans habit of making “fascist chants” and “Nazi salutes”. The ministry recalled the last time Marseille hosted Lazio on 25 October, 2018, “four people were stabbed in a melee involving almost 200 supporters” on the eve of the game and the day of the match there were further clashes between the two sets of fans.