France struggles to find right balance as violence at matches escalates

Death of a fan in early December has led to calls for drastic measures but travel bans have been met with opposition

When Fabio Grosso’s bloodied face was plastered across the front page of L’Équipe on 30 October – “Disgust and shame,” the headline read – there was already a prevailing sense that the spate of violent incidents in French football was plumbing new depths.

Lyon’s Italian coach was injured as the team bus was pelted on its arrival at the Stade Vélodrome in Marseille for a high-stakes Olympico showdown. To make matters worse, Nazi salutes and racist chanting were seen and heard from a small minority of the Lyon fans who were already inside the stadium. The match was postponed and played without away fans more than a month later.

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