Ten in custody after Lille fans pitch invasion

Lille (France) (AFP) – Ten people were placed in custody on Thursday as part of an investigation into last weekend’s pitch invasion in Lille by angry home supporters, the public prosecutor’s department said.

They were detained over “entry to a sports area compromising the security of property and people” and for “inciting hate and/or violence during a sporting event”, according to prosecutors.

Supporters got onto the pitch at Lille’s Stade Pierre-Mauroy at the end of Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Montpellier in Ligue 1.

Some of the fans shouted insults and even aimed kicks at players, including Nicolas Pepe, the Ivory Coast forward whose goal had earned Lille a draw.

The supporters — upwards of a hundred in number — then gathered by the entrance to the players tunnel, below where incredulous directors were watching on, but were held back by stewards.

Prosecutors in the northern French city said they had ordered the opening of an investigation into the incidents on Sunday morning and that Lille lodged their own complaints for “aggravated violence, criminal damage and death threats” shortly after.