Olympiakos will be deprived of its supporters at the VĂ©lodrome. Thursday, OM welcomes the Greek club for the second day of the Europa League, in a particularly tense context. In response to the travel ban imposed by the French authorities, the Piraeus team announced that none of its fans would be present in the visitors’ park.
In a press release, Olympiakos justified this decision by denouncing the restrictions decided by the French authorities, who believe they cannot guarantee the safety of Greek supporters in Marseille. “The authorities consider that it is not possible to put in place sufficient security measures to deal with the risks linked to the travel of Olympiakos supporters”explains the club. The decision would be motivated in particular by the risks of disturbances to public order in a period marked by high school demonstrations which mobilized the police in the region.
In detail, people declaring themselves supporters or representatives of Olympiakos will be prohibited from traveling in the 1st, 2nd, 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th arrondissements of Marseille from Wednesday October 14 at 8 a.m. to Friday October 16 at 2 a.m. Faced with this measure, the Greek club will provide a full refund of the tickets purchased by its supporters for the trip to the VĂ©lodrome. Both first category tickets, sold at 49 euros, and those in the visitors sector, offered at 15 euros, are affected.
A meeting classified as very high risk
According to RMC Sportthis Europa League poster has been classified at the maximum risk level, with a rating of 5 out of 5 awarded by the National Directorate for the Fight against Hooliganism. Nearly 200 Greek supporters are believed to be linked to the hooligan movement, while the authorities also fear the consequences of rivalries between ultra groups.
Indeed, Commando Ultra 84, a group of Marseille supporters, maintains friendly ties with fans of AEK Athens, Olympiakos’ historic rival. A context which reinforces the concerns of the authorities as this European meeting approaches, which will therefore be played without the supporters of the Greek club.
