French government to meet with Ligue 1 authorities over rising crowd trouble | OneFootball

L’Équipe report this afternoon that three French government ministries – Justice, Sport, and the Home Secretary – will meet with the French Football Federation and Ligue 1 concerning the rise in crowd trouble this season.

The summit, set to take place on Wednesday, comes as a response to numerous instances of pitch invasions and clashes between fans across Ligue 1 this year. Sanctions imposed by the LFP – the authority presiding over Ligue 1 – regarding incidents during Nice-Marseille and Lens-Lille have done little to dissuade further crowd trouble, which continues on a weekly basis.

The meeting had been called for by the LFP on August 24, two days after the Nice-Marseille fixture was suspended with 15 minutes to go after a mass brawl involving players, fans and even coaches after Dimitri Payet reacted to bottle-throwing.

The aim of the gathering is to encourage better coordination involving clubs and state representatives, and could be followed by an additional meeting in the presence of the respective ministers of each government department involved.