As reported by L’Équipe, this afternoon the French league governing body, the LFP (Ligue de Football Professionel), will hold its yearly conference in Toulouse, where the hot topic of discussion will no doubt focus on the management of supporters in France – and an opportunity for the organisation to map out its response to the mishandling of the UEFA Champions League final between Liverpool and Real Madrid.
The meeting takes place every year – but this year’s edition has an increased level of importance. It follows an increase in incidents in the stands this season which has involved Nice, Lyon, Marseille, Angers, and Saint-Étienne in the top tier – with other fan related incidents occurring up and down the French football pyramid.
The event will run through Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning which will gather the security directors and fan representatives of Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 clubs at the Toulouse stadium – with announcements set to be made on the management of fans. France’s National Division for Combating Hooliganism (DNLH) is also involved.
Authorities are calling upon a reconciliatory rhetoric in exchanges between Police, the FFF, and the League governing bodies in order to, as the director general of the FFF Florence Hardouin put it, “start again on a good footing” after the mishap of the Champions League final which saw several incidents in the lead up to the match. Thousands of supporters were unable to enter the stadium on time and the match itself was delayed.
Liverpool and its supporters have been critical of the police’s approach, which involved use of tear gas on fans, while interior minister Gérald Darmanin had laid the blame on ticketless Reds fans – using figures that have been widely rebuffed by experts.
GFFN
