April 14 – Clashes between French and Turkish fans delayed a Europa League quarter-final kick off by 45 minutes on Thursday before Lyon came from behind to beat Besiktas 2-1, throwing into question next week’s return leg in Istanbul.
Hundreds of Lyon fans sought safety on the pitch when fighting broke out about 20 minutes before the scheduled kick off in a stadium that will host the final next season.
The trouble was concentrated in a section behind one goal housing Besiktas fans, and followed clashes between rival groups on the streets.
The return match is next Thursday in Istanbul which has a reputation as among the most volatile cities in Europe for visiting football fans.
Both clubs will be sanctioned by UEFA, which increased security measures at all Champions League and Europa League matches this week after Borussia Dortmund’s team bus was targeted by a bomb attack on Tuesday.
Authorities had categorised the fixture ‘high risk’, with about 500 police reportedly stationed at Parc Olympique Lyonnais – more than double the usual number.
Both teams left the field as fans spilled on to the playing surface before kick-off, with Lyon president Jean Michel Aulas going into the crowd in an effort to calm supporters.
Aulas is seeking reassurances from UEFA over whether the second leg can still go ahead. “I do not know what to do – to play behind closed doors or elsewhere,” he told AFP. “But it would be very dangerous for us to face this opponent with the same supporters as tonight. For now, we are not very reassured about how things can happen.”
“We can always say that the match organiser has to face these issues but either we make stadiums that make it possible to do family football or we build blockhouses with barbed wire. It is not football that you love.”
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