Lens have banned their own supporters from travelling to Friday’s Ligue 1 derby against Lille, saying dangerous behaviour at Club Brugge “crossed a red line”. The decision comes after UEFA barred the French side from selling away tickets for Champions League trips to RB Leipzig and Liverpool, with disabled fans and a steward injured by pyrotechnics in Belgium.
Lens have barred their own fans from travelling to Friday’s Derby du Nord against Lille, following crowd trouble during their Champions League defeat at Club Brugge. They lost 3-0 in Belgium on October 21, and UEFA has since punished their fans for lighting and throwing pyrotechnics and for acts of damage in the stadium.
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The governing body has also banned Lens from selling away tickets for upcoming Champions League trips to RB Leipzig and Liverpool. The club had warned supporters beforehand that they were carrying a suspended ban on European away ticket sales, and that sanction has now been enforced.
In a statement released on Wednesday, Lens revealed that “the club’s disabled supporters were directly injured” by pyrotechnics thrown during the game in Brugge, with a matchday steward also hurt. The club made clear that the scenes in the away end went well beyond anything they were prepared to tolerate.
“This situation goes far beyond the realm of the displays that sometimes accompany popular expression in the stands,” the statement read. “A red line has been crossed. This line was not implicit. It had been jointly defined by the club and supporters’ groups following discussions held last season … those commitments made jointly at that time were based on a simple principle: the safety of individuals and those involved in the game should never be jeopardised.”
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As a result, Lens will not sell tickets to their own fans for Friday night’s clash at Stade Pierre-Mauroy, which has capacity for 2,000 away supporters for Ligue 1 matches. The two clubs are separated by just 17 miles in northern France and share a fierce rivalry.
“The club believes that the sense of responsibility to which everyone committed has been disregarded,” the statement added. “This decision pursues a dual objective: to punish and to prevent.” Lens admitted the move would cause great disappointment among their supporters, but insisted they were not prepared “to risk further unrest”.
Lens head into the derby seventh in Ligue 1, while Lille sit third, giving Friday’s meeting plenty of significance near the top of the table.
The club, who finished second last season and won their first Coupe de France, must also face their upcoming Champions League trips to RB Leipzig and Liverpool without any travelling support.
