Serious riots broke out before the Conference League game of Bundesliga soccer club 1. FC Köln at OGC Nice, and the kick-off was postponed indefinitely.
“We are currently discussing the background. The UEFA safety meeting is now taking place,” FC tweeted around 15 minutes before the scheduled kick-off at 6:45 p.m.
Around 50 masked Cologne residents had initially attacked the French block. Flares, e-scooters, chairs and tables flew during the ensuing argument. It took more than five minutes for the police to get the situation under control. Around five minutes later, Nice supporters attacked the Cologne block. This time the situation was under control more quickly. Nothing was initially known about injuries and arrests.
Appeal to the fans
The captains Jonas Hector from 1. FC Köln and Nice’s captain Dante stepped in front of their fan blocks with microphones. “We wanted to celebrate a football festival with you. We still want to play, but of course we can’t approve of that,” said Hector: “We worked our ass off to qualify for the Conference League and we want this here also play. Please keep quiet, we want to celebrate football here and not have violence.”
The club wrote that it condemned “any form of violence. We stand for fair sporting behavior and respectful behavior. We are very sorry for all the peaceful fans who have made today a Cologne football festival.”
