Nice increase security ahead of Marseille reception
L’Équipe report that Nice have made sure to increase stadium security ahead of their reception of Marseille in the Coupe de France tonight, six months after the league fixture was abandoned after a pitch invasion and mass brawl.
Although the match is sold out, with 33,000 supporters expected, Marseille fans are banned from travelling to the game.
One measure which was implements on the supporters’ return to the stadium after Nice were ordered to play several games behind closed doors was to retract the two offending stands further back from the pitch. Nets have also been placed in front of them, in order to avoid the object-throwing that marred the Nice-OM game in August.
The number of stewards had been increased to 500 since the incidents, and tonight that number increases to 700, along with an additional 180 reinforcements the police. Supporters will be subject to more thorough checks outside the stadium, notably with police dogs deployed to find any potential pyrotechnic equipment that might be brought into the ground.