OGC Nice supporters banned from… Nice by authorities before Saint-Étienne play-off | OneFootball

Supporters of OGC Nice have effectively been banned in their own city ahead of Friday night’s relegation play-off second leg against AS Saint-Étienne, with an order published this morning by French authorities.

With the match already set to take place behind closed doors following the incidents against Metz, the Alpes-Maritimes prefecture has issued an extraordinary decree prohibiting “any person claiming to be an OGC Nice supporter, or behaving as such” from entering a large perimeter around the Allianz Riviera and the club’s training centre between Friday midday and early Saturday morning.

In practice, the order appears so broad that simply wearing a Nice shirt, singing a club chant or openly identifying as a supporter could theoretically fall under the ban.

The restricted perimeter stretches across several major roads surrounding the stadium complex, meaning Nice supporters risk being excluded from areas containing shops, gyms and other businesses located nearby.

French authorities justified the measure by citing repeated incidents involving Nice ultras in recent years, including clashes with Saint-Étienne supporters, the recent pitch invasion against Metz and violence surrounding the Coupe de France final.

The wording of the decree has nonetheless raised eyebrows in France because of its unusually expansive interpretation of what constitutes a public-order threat. The first leg at Geoffroy-Guichard ended goalless earlier this week.GFFN | George Boxall