3 hurt as smokebombs thrown at Marseille, Galatasary tie

Marseille (AFP) – Three police officers were injured after smokebombs and firecrackers were thrown at Thursday’s Europa League game between Marseille and Galatasary in France.

The match was delayed by eight minutes late in the first half as projectiles were lobbed from the end of the Stade Velodrome where fans of the Turkish club were grouped, officials said.

There were also clashes between rival sets of fans before calm was restored.

“Tonight it took 550 police officers for a football match to take place. Three of them were injured, they have my full support,” prefect of police, Frederique Camilleri, wrote on Twitter.

Galatasaray fans were banned from travelling from Turkey for the high-risk game.

However, the club boasts thousands of supporters throughout the rest of Europe.

“Our supporters are important to us. I asked them to stay calm. They listened to me,” said Galatasary coach Fatih Terim.

The game itself ended 0-0.