'All I see is a massive Covid-19 cluster' - No fanzones in Paris for Champions League final
There will be no fanzones in the French capital for this weekend's Champions League final that pitches Paris Saint-Germain against Bayern Munich, authorities told AFP on Thursday.
French football fans will be holding their breath as PSG take on Bayern in Lisbon on Sunday, in a Champions League final that could see a French team win the prestigious cup for the first time since 1993.
It is also the first time the PSG has made it to the final, yet fans will have to watch the game from their homes or a bar, as the mayor's office has said no to fanzones in the city.
"All I see is an massive Covid-19 cluster," Paris health official Anne Souyris said of a potential fanzone.
The PSG's Champions League successes have coincided with several departments in the Île-de-France region around Paris passing the "alert threshold" of 50 new daily coronavirus cases per 100,000 inhabitants.
Souyris told AFP she recommended gatherings in small groups of 10 or less in cafés where social distancing is possible, to prevent the game night from causing the number of new coronavirus cases in the capital to spike further.
She also blew off Sports Minister Roxana Maracineanu's proposed fanzone plans "a bad suggestion".
"It's not thought out and it doesn't make any sense from a health point of view," Souyris said.
PSG had planned a live transmission of the game for 5,000 spectators at its Parc des Princes ground, which is the upper limit of people allowed in a gathering.
"If we do that at the stadium, we risk having groupings we won't be able to manage," Souyris said.
Following PSG's semi-final victory on Tuesday, French police arrested 36 people including three minors after clashes on the Champs-Elysées and around PSG's home ground of the Parc des Princes, in the west of the capital.
Thousands of PSG fans, often young and for the most part not wearing masks in line with coronavirus health and safety protocols, paraded down the Champs-Elysées in cars, and on mopeds and scooters, in a cacophony of horn-blowing and chanting.
Fortes tensions autour de l’Arc de triomphe. Les derniers supporters sur place visent les forces de l’ordre avec des projectiles.#LEIPSG #PSGRBL #ChampionsLeague #dimaria #PSG #Paris pic.twitter.com/E4lowiizno
— Yazid Bouziar (@ybouziar) August 18, 2020
Justice Minister Eric Dupond-Moretti condemned the fans' actions as a "disgrace."
"The judicial system will be vigilant and the Paris prosecutor's office will bring the perpetrators of these acts of violence on the Champs Elysées," he wrote in a tweet.
Certains portent un maillot qui a fait hier soir la fierté de toute une ville et même d’un pays.
Ils en font le déshonneur.
La justice sera vigilante et le parquet de Paris traduira devant la juridiction les auteurs de ces exactions sur les #ChampsElyseespic.twitter.com/R3VhqbSln6
— Eric Dupond-Moretti (@E_DupondM) August 19, 2020
Comments
See Also
French football fans will be holding their breath as PSG take on Bayern in Lisbon on Sunday, in a Champions League final that could see a French team win the prestigious cup for the first time since 1993.
It is also the first time the PSG has made it to the final, yet fans will have to watch the game from their homes or a bar, as the mayor's office has said no to fanzones in the city.
"All I see is an massive Covid-19 cluster," Paris health official Anne Souyris said of a potential fanzone.
The PSG's Champions League successes have coincided with several departments in the Île-de-France region around Paris passing the "alert threshold" of 50 new daily coronavirus cases per 100,000 inhabitants.
Souyris told AFP she recommended gatherings in small groups of 10 or less in cafés where social distancing is possible, to prevent the game night from causing the number of new coronavirus cases in the capital to spike further.
She also blew off Sports Minister Roxana Maracineanu's proposed fanzone plans "a bad suggestion".
"It's not thought out and it doesn't make any sense from a health point of view," Souyris said.
PSG had planned a live transmission of the game for 5,000 spectators at its Parc des Princes ground, which is the upper limit of people allowed in a gathering.
"If we do that at the stadium, we risk having groupings we won't be able to manage," Souyris said.
Following PSG's semi-final victory on Tuesday, French police arrested 36 people including three minors after clashes on the Champs-Elysées and around PSG's home ground of the Parc des Princes, in the west of the capital.
Thousands of PSG fans, often young and for the most part not wearing masks in line with coronavirus health and safety protocols, paraded down the Champs-Elysées in cars, and on mopeds and scooters, in a cacophony of horn-blowing and chanting.
Fortes tensions autour de l’Arc de triomphe. Les derniers supporters sur place visent les forces de l’ordre avec des projectiles.#LEIPSG #PSGRBL #ChampionsLeague #dimaria #PSG #Paris pic.twitter.com/E4lowiizno
— Yazid Bouziar (@ybouziar) August 18, 2020
Justice Minister Eric Dupond-Moretti condemned the fans' actions as a "disgrace."
"The judicial system will be vigilant and the Paris prosecutor's office will bring the perpetrators of these acts of violence on the Champs Elysées," he wrote in a tweet.
Certains portent un maillot qui a fait hier soir la fierté de toute une ville et même d’un pays.
— Eric Dupond-Moretti (@E_DupondM) August 19, 2020
Ils en font le déshonneur.
La justice sera vigilante et le parquet de Paris traduira devant la juridiction les auteurs de ces exactions sur les #ChampsElyseespic.twitter.com/R3VhqbSln6
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.