PARIS, March 4 (Reuters) - French league president Frederic Thiriez has promised to punish the troublemakers who disrupted champions Olympique Lyon's 3-1 derby win at St Etienne on Saturday.
The Ligue 1 game was halted for 20 minutes after a flare was
thrown from the Lyon section towards the home supporters, one of
whom sent it back.
Police moved in and sprayed tear gas which prompted referee
Tony Chapron to send the players back to the dressing rooms in
the 52nd minute.
'What happened is deeply lamentable,' Thiriez told
RMC radio
on Sunday.
'There will be sanctions. Our disciplinary committee will
meet on Thursday to punish those responsible.'
Thiriez also called on the clubs to act more responsibly.
Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas said ahead of the match
that his team's fans were more intelligent than St Etienne's
club officials.
'I am urging the fans, but also the officials of the clubs,
to stop stiring up the hatred,' said Thiriez.
French football has been marred by crowd trouble this
season.
In November, a Paris St Germain fan was shot dead by a
policeman following a UEFA Cup game with Hapoel Tel Aviv of
Israel.
In the same month, a UEFA Cup match between Nancy and
Feyenoord was suspended for more than 30 minutes after trouble
broke out in the stands. The incident caused the Dutch club to
be thrown out of the competition.
Last month, several Manchester United supporters appeared to
be crushed when too many were allowed into one area of the Stade
Felix-Bollaert in Lens for the Champions League first knockout
round first leg against Lille.
• Three people were injured in
clashes between Dutch hooligans and Paris St Germain fans before
the Ligue 1 team played Sedan on Saturday.
'The three injured were a PSG fan, a Dutch fan and a PSG
steward,' Marie-Helene Desbazeille, general secretary of the
Ardennes prefect's office, said.
'All three suffered minor injuries and have left hospital.'
Hooligans from Dutch first division club Utrecht travelled
by bus to clash with their PSG counterparts in the eastern city
of Sedan.
A few fights erupted in the city before the match but no
major incidents were reported at the game.
Hosts Sedan climbed off the foot of the table with a 2-0
win.
