Marseille fan faces attempted murder charge for crowd unrest
A supporter of French club Marseille has been handed preliminary charges including attempted murder for allegedly firing a flare that seriously injured a visiting German fan during crowd violence at Stade Velodrome last month
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A supporter of French club Marseille has been handed preliminary charges including attempted murder for allegedly firing a flare that seriously injured a visiting German fan during crowd violence at Stade Velodrome last month.
The Marseille public prosecutor's office on Friday indicted the 26-year-old Marseille supporter, who allegedly launched the flare in the parking lot when Eintracht Frankfurt visited for a Champions League match on Sept. 13. The supporter was not publicly identified.
The German fan sustained a serious neck injury after being hit by the flare and is still receiving medical care. German agency DPA has reported that a 64-year-old woman was injured when she tried to remove the flare.
Seventeen police officers were also injured during the crowd violence. Riot police intervened when opposing fans launched flares and fireworks at each other from close range for several minutes inside the stadium.
Seventeen people had been detained.
The night before the game, opposing groups of ultras and hooligans from Marseille and Frankfurt — numbering more than 100 on each side — were on the verge of fighting in the street before riot police stepped in.
The violence at Stade Velodrome came days after 32 people were injured in a mass brawl between ultras from Nice and German club Cologne before a Europa Conference League match.
Marseille plays at Frankfurt on Wednesday in another Champions League game.
___
AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/world-cup