SPORT NEWS

Violence mars PSG celebrations

Celebrations to mark Paris Saint-Germain’s first French football league title in 19 years have been marred by clashes between fans and riot police.

At least 30 people were injured, including policemen, and 21 arrests were made after the unrest on Place du Trocadero, near the Eiffel Tower.

It took 800 police several hours to bring the situation under control. Interior Minister Manuel Valls has banned a trophy presentation due outside the City Hall on Wednesday.

Defending police actions, he said PSG had “serious problems with its fans”. “Football is still sick – that’s the case with PSG,” he told Europe 1 radio.

He suggested that trouble could have been avoided had the celebration taken place in the club’s home stadium, Parc des Princes.

Monday’s riot comes three years after a PSG fan was killed outside the stadium.

The club changed its ticketing policy and temporarily banned supporters’ groups from the stadium following the death, angering many Ultras, as the club’s hardline supporters are known.

It was supposed to have been a public relations dream: the victorious Paris team captured in glory against a backdrop of the city’s most famous landmark.

Instead the Eiffel Tower was shrouded in tear gas and coloured smoke, as PSG players scuttled for cover after just five minutes on the podium. The events at the Trocadero are disastrous on all counts: for the image of the city, for French football and for PSG.

It appears the original violence was started by hardline supporters linked to far-right groups such as the Ultras. They have a beef against PSG’s Qatari owners, who they accuse of trying to keep them out of the grounds.