A Paris Saint-Germain soccer fan has died after spending weeks in a
coma following an attack by rival supporters, the latest incident
of violence associated with the French club.
The 38-year-old fan suffered serious head injuries during
street clashes among the club's fan groups at a Feb. 28 French
league match against Marseille.
A Paris police official said Thursday the fan, who was not
identified, died late Wednesday night in the Beaujon Hospital. The
official was not authorized to be publicly named because of police
rules.
"The club's survival is at stake," France's sports minister
Rama Yade said in a statement. "The worst has happened. Passions
transformed into sordid, senseless, murderous rage. Love of the
team jersey has become hate for the other, hate for the sport, hate
for life."
PSG has long had a far-right element among its fans, many of
whom gather in the Kop of Boulogne section of the Parc des Princes
stadium and have been in conflict with supporters in the Auteuil
section at the other end of the arena.
About two hours before the Marseille game, a large group of
supporters from the Kop of Boulogne attacked rivals outside the
Auteuil entrance to the stadium.
Preliminary charges for attempted murder were filed against a
man suspected of taking part in the assault after being identified
through video surveillance cameras.
Yade called for strict punishment of the perpetrators and for
club management to prevent more violence.
The club's next match, against Nice on Saturday, will be
played in front of empty stands as a result of the violence, the
Interior Ministry said in a statement.
PSG said in a statement that it would "learn all the lessons
necessary from this drama and will take the necessary decisions to
push violence away from the Parc des Princes (stadium) and when the
team travels away."
Two PSG fans have died in disturbances outside Parc des
Princes in the last four years.
