COLOGNE, Germany: German soccer club Cologne have urged their fans to submit photos and videos to a police “evidence portal” to identify those responsible for violence at the Europa Conference League game in Nice.
Thirty-two people were injured at Thursday’s match between Nice and Cologne when fights broke out among supporters in the stands at Allianz Riviera stadium. The game ended 1-1 after the start was delayed by about an hour.
French prosecutors launched investigations Friday and UEFA opened a disciplinary case with eight charges against Nice, including failure by the French club to screen and search spectators, and three against Cologne.
Cologne police have set up “an evidence portal where photos or videos of the incidents can be uploaded,” said the German club, which host Union Berlin in a Bundesliga game on Sunday.
“On both sides, it was a small minority of under 100 people who caused the violent events to transpire within the stadium,” said Christian Keller, the club’s managing director. “More than 7,900 of the 8,000 FC fans had nothing to do with the violence.”
Keller also said the violence was “particularly regrettable” because they had pointed out “risks and gaps” in the French security plan before the match.
“Unfortunately, these warnings, which had not been heeded, were confirmed during the course of the day, when French hooligans attacked FC fans in the city and around the stadium,” Keller said.
Bernard Gonzalez, French government’s regional administrator, said thousands of German fans began consuming alcohol early Thursday in downtown bars. Those “most at risk” were supposed to be placed in a secure part of the stadium, but they broke free alongside some Parisian hooligans and kicked off the violence, he said.
Paris Saint-Germain condemned the violence after it emerged that fans from a banned group of hardcore PSG supporters took part in the clashes.
Cologne urge fans to give evidence after violence in Nice
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Cologne urge fans to give evidence after violence in Nice
- Thirty-two people were injured at Thursday’s match between Nice and Cologne
- UEFA opened a disciplinary case with eight charges against Nice
Sanders crashes out of Dakar Rally contention and Al-Attiyah reclaims car lead
- The Australian’s KTM finished 28 minutes behind stage 10 winner Adrien van Beveren’s Honda
- Al-Attiyah has a sixth Dakar triumph in sight
BISHA, Saudi Arabia: Dakar Rally front-runner Daniel Sanders crashed and fell out of motorbike title contention and Nasser Al-Attiyah snatched back the car lead in the Saudi desert on Wednesday.
Sanders broke his left collarbone and sternum jumping a dune 138 kilometers into the 368-kilometer second half of a marathon stage to Bisha. The defending champion continued but slower and within 30 kilometers his six-minute overnight lead was gone.
The Australian’s KTM finished 28 minutes behind stage 10 winner Adrien van Beveren’s Honda and he dropped from first overall to fourth, more than 17 minutes back, two minutes off the podium.
That left the title to be decided between new leader Ricky Brabec and Luciano Benavides, second and third on the stage. The American’s Honda and Argentine’s KTM were separated overall by 56 seconds ahead of, effectively, a two stage shootout. The final stage on Saturday is usually a ceremonial ride.
Brabec won the Dakar in 2020 and 2024 while Benavides has never won; best placing was fourth last year.
Al-Attiyah has a sixth Dakar triumph in sight.
The dunes specialist from Qatar stamped his authority on the sandy special to finish second to Mathieu Serradori, who gave South African manufacturer Century its first Dakar stage win.
Serradori won his second career stage by six minutes.
The Fords of Nani Roma (first overnight), Carlos Sainz (second) and Mattias Ekström (fifth) were the biggest losers.
Ekström was first to the checkpoint at 91 kilometers but moments later suffered a mechanical problem. Roma lost his way and dropped 10 minutes just before passing 200 kilometers. Sainz also made a navigation error in the soft sand.
“I’m knackered, my back hurts, I suffered a lot today,” Roma said. “But that’s part of the game.”
Also, Toyota’s Henk Lategan, fourth overnight, ran out of fuel and made a navigation error.
Al-Attiyah grabbed the provisional overall lead about 200 kilometers into the 420-kilometer special and topped a Dacia 2-3-4 stage finish with Sébastien Loeb and Lucas Moraes.
“My head and body have taken a real beating,” Al-Attiyah said. “But we really attacked from start to finish. Fabian (Lurquin, navigator) did a great job and we can feel both happy and lucky because it was really hard.”
Overall, Al-Attiyah earned his biggest lead yet, over Lategan by 12 minutes, Roma by nearly 13 and Loeb by 23. Ekström and Sainz fell more than 34 minutes back.
