No away fans are welcome at the Europa League match that Ajax will play in and against Marseille in two weeks. The local authorities of the French port city informed Ajax of this.
An emergency decree is in force in Marseille in the days surrounding the match. Anyone who claims to be an Ajax supporter ‘or behaves as such’ is prohibited from being in the stadium or the 1st, 2nd, 6th, 7th and 8th arrondissements of the city, as stated in the regulation.
Capacity
According to the government of the region that includes Marseille, there is a high risk of disruptions to public order around the match. In addition, there is said to be insufficient police capacity in the city since the French government increased the terror threat level last month to the highest position..
“This means that one cannot sufficiently guarantee the safety of well-intentioned Ajax supporters,” can be read in a statement on the Ajax website.
That Ajax fans would not be welcome in Marseille, had been in the air for a while. Ajax Fancare announced at the beginning of this week that it was ‘highly uncertain’ whether supporters would be allowed to travel.
Marseille home
The two teams also played against each other at the end of September. There were away fans present at that match, which was played in the Arena. Even before kick-off, supporters from the clubs became involved disturbances. More than 20 supporters were arrested that evening.