Brest – MHSC: Montpellier supporters banned from traveling by the Ministry of the Interior

Les Montpelliérains ne pourront pas se déplacer à Brest. Midi Libre – Jean-Michel Mart

Dans un arrêté du 9 janvier publié jeudi au Journal officiel, le ministre de l'Intérieur estime que les déplacements du club montpelliérain "sont fréquemment sources de troubles à l'ordre public du fait du comportement violent de certains supporteurs".

Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin banned Montpellier supporters from traveling to Brest for the match on the 18th day of Ligue 1 between the two clubs on Sunday, citing "a real and serious risk of' #39;clashes". In a decree dated January 9 published Thursday in the Official Journal, the Minister of the Interior considers that the trips of the Montpellier club “are frequently sources of disturbances to public order due to violent behavior of certain supporters.

Frequent overflows during matches in Brest

He cites clashes ahead of the Nantes-Montpellier match on May 20, 2023 and also recalls the frequent excesses during home matches at Stade Brestois with "violent behavior" of some of his supporters. He cites as an example the case of the Lensois bus guard, victim of a "projectile thrown by a Brest supporter" on February 5, 2023. His decree finally cites "relationships marked by animosity" between supporters of the two teams synonymous with systematic clashes since August 2022.

"On November 26, 2023 in Montpellier, the Brest supporters' bus was the subject of projectiles before and after the match, causing material damage and injuring two Brest supporters& ;quot;, declares Mr. Darmanin. This ban is valid for 24 hours from Sunday January 14 at midnight. In view of this L1 meeting, the Finistère prefecture, in a decree dated January 5, had already banned the presence of Montpellier supporters in a perimeter around the Francis-Le Blé stadium.

A death in Nantes

Violence between supporters is increasing in French football and the government has decided to tighten the screw with multiple travel bans since the death of a supporter in Nantes at the beginning of December. But the Council of State suspended these decrees almost every time, citing "a serious and manifestly disproportionate attack on fundamental freedoms".