Brutal clash between the ultras from Nice and Cologne: shots, rockets, injuries and a fan in “absolute urgency”

At least 11 people injured, one of them seriously, was the toll of the clashes between supporters of Beautiful Y Colony before the start of the match between the two teams at the Allianz Riviera stadium in the French city for the first date of group D of the Conference League. Despite the gravity of the events, UEFA decided that the match would be played.

According to reports from the journalists present at the stadium, the incidents began less than an hour before the start of the match, scheduled for 19:45 (13:45 in Argentina) and for which about 10,000 Cologne fans had turned 1,500 kilometers separating the two cities.

A small group of hooded German sympathizers, which was in one of the headings, invaded one of the stalls with the aim of crossing it and reaching the position of the ultras of the local group. The clash between the two prejudices was not long in coming, given the lack of an initial response from the security officers.

Launch of rockets, seats, sticks and whatever else was at hand, collisions with belts and some hand-to-hand clashes that occurred before the police intervened by throwing gas at disperse the rioters and restore calm to reign in the stadium.

In the midst of that fight, a German supporter fell from the second layup to the first of the enclosure. “The man suffered a five-meter fall. The incident took place in the midst of the incidents at the stadium, “said Benoit Huber, cabinet director of the Prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes, in statements collected by the French agency AFP.

The man, whose identity has not been revealed, is hospitalized in a state of decubitus “Absolute urgency”, according to authorities. Another 10 people were injured during the skirmishes, although all are out of danger.

When the conflict was muted, it was reported on the stadium speakers that, by UEFA’s decision, the match would be played, even though it would start at 19:40 (14:40 in Argentina), 55 minutes after the scheduled time. . Furthermore, it was noted that in case of new incidents, the game would be suspended.

After an announcement in German asking Cologne fans to calm down, the captain of Nice, the Brazilian Dante, took the microphone and spoke to his fans. “I’m counting on you to be able to play this game, even on your support,” he said.

Before the tangana there were also accidents at the stadium. According to the Nice authorities, German fans had caused damage in the city center and then they had thrown bottles and smoke bombs near the Colosseum. They also clashed with the police there.

“I regret the uncivil and scandalous behavior of the Cologne fans and the lack of respect for the city that welcomes them in a generous and fraternal way. We will send invoices for damage and cleaning of public spaces to the club in Cologne ”, the mayor of Nice, Christian Estrosi, warned through his Twitter account after the first road accidents.

Later, when the clashes had already taken place inside the Allianz Riviera, Estrosi highlighted the work of the Carabinieri and asked the agents to redouble their efforts after the game “to avoid any risk of accidents outside the stadium”.