Paris Saint-Germain on Friday condemned violent incidents that marred the match between Nice and Cologne in the Europa Conference League after it emerged that members of a banned group of hardcore PSG supporters were involved in the brawl.
The start of Thursday’s match was delayed by nearly an hour due to clashes between fans in the stands of the Allianz Riviera stadium.
French media reported that dozens of people were injured and that PSG hooligans had joined German fans. The match ended in a 1-1 draw.
In a statement, PSG said it has been deeply committed to preventing violence in football over the past 10 years and said the Supras Auteuil supporters group was dissolved in 2010. PSG stressed that it does not recognize members of that group as PSG supporters and insisted they are banned from the club’s stadium in Paris.
PSG had serious problems with hooligan violence from 1985 to 2010. The team’s management later took steps to combat the problem and radically changed its ticketing policy.
“The club will need to consider what action to take for the damage to its reputation caused by the actions of such individuals,” PSG said.