Marseille supporters and officials will boycott Sunday's French
league match at Paris Saint-Germain to protest against security
measures imposed on visiting fans.
Marseille supporters willing to attend the match would have
been searched before setting off in special buses escorted by
police.
Marseille president Jean-Claude Dassier told French radio RTL
on Saturday that Marseille fans "are not violent" and had made a
"clever and courageous decision" to refuse to attend the match.
"I won't go to Paris," Dassier said. "A football club without
its supporters is not really a club anymore."
Dassier said he understood the reasons for the security
measures.
"I don't blame the French authorities for that," Dassier
said. "The context was dangerous with PSG fans wanting to fight, as
we found out this week. We have to get rid of the black sheeps."
Nearly a dozen PSG fans were arrested Thursday near the Stade
Velodrome ahead of Marseille's Europa League match against FC
Copenhagen. The fans were trying to mix with Copenhagen fans and
fight with their Marseille counterparts.
Earlier, a group of fans called "Ultras Marseille" said in a
statement it won't travel to Paris because of "hysterical security
measures."
Marseille and PSG fans have a long history of clashes. They
fought in downtown Marseille after the late postponement of their
first meeting of the season in October. Nearly a dozen people were
injured.
