Players assaulted by extremist fans, Nice faces this issue not for the first time

By Han Bing Violent conflicts among extremist fans are frequent. Some fans often “lecture” their home team players, which is common, but it is extremely rare and reprehensible for extremist fans to assault players of their favored team — unfortunately, for Ligue 1’s Nice, these kinds of scandals are well known.

On the evening of November 30th (French time), Nice’s first team was attacked by extremist fans outside their Riviera training base. Ivorian winger Boga, Nigerian striker Moffi, and sporting director Maurice were injured. This incident is the most severe fan violence scandal in European football since the May 2018 “Lisbon scandal,” when extremist fans attacked Sporting CP players and coaches at their training ground.

The violent attack by Nice’s extremist fans stemmed from the team’s poor performance. Last season, Nice finished 4th in Ligue 1 and qualified for the Champions League, but the club sold many key players during the summer transfer window, reinvesting only a third of the income. The new season started with three consecutive defeats, elimination by Benfica in the Champions League qualifiers, and six straight losses across all competitions in November, especially away defeats to relegation-threatened Metz and Lorient, which triggered the extremist fans’ anger.

At 11 pm local time on November 30th, Nice’s team bus was surrounded by 400 extremist fans outside the Riviera training base. The masked, black-clad extremists threw smoke bombs and flares at the bus. Coach Haise and other players talked with the extremists for nearly an hour, but tensions remained high. When players began to disembark, the situation escalated; some extremists started attacking players, including pushing and spitting. Boga and Moffi were the primary targets, with Moffi receiving over ten punches, including to his groin. Sporting director Maurice was also beaten due to dissatisfaction with the summer transfers. Although the team quickly entered the training base, the extremists only dispersed an hour later.

Nice players and coaches believe the club should take responsibility for the attack. Although the club anticipated possible violence and deployed extra security and police in advance, it failed to prevent the assault. Besides poor security, the affected players had not received any calls from the club by early Monday morning. Meanwhile, the police report oddly described the atmosphere as “very hostile” but claimed no injuries or arrests occurred.

On Monday, injured players Boga and Moffi underwent medical examinations and filed reports at the local police station. The French Professional Football League (LFP) issued a statement strongly condemning the violence and, as a civil party, jointly filed a lawsuit with players Boga, Moffi, and sporting director Maurice. Nice club announced a two-day break, resuming training only on Wednesday. Coach Haise said he was considering resignation as his personal safety was not guaranteed by the club.

Nice’s ordeal also recalls the brutal attack on Sporting CP’s entire squad by extremist fans at their training ground eight years ago. On May 15, 2018, around 50 members of Sporting’s extremist fan group stormed the training base, trapping players, coaches, and medical staff in the locker room and assaulting them. Injured included goalkeeper Patricio, midfielder William Carvalho, Argentine forward Acuña, midfielder Battaglia, and Dutch striker Dost.

Following the incident, nine players terminated their contracts citing personal safety concerns, with seven recognized by the Portuguese players’ union. Coach Jesus resigned for the same reason, and club president de Carvalho was dismissed by the board. By 2020, only nine of the 44 accused attackers received five-year prison sentences, two were given suspended sentences, and the extremist fan group leader Josinto, accused of orchestrating the attack, was acquitted due to insufficient evidence.

It is worth noting that Nice had previously suffered attacks from extremist fans a decade ago. On May 14, 2015, just four days after a 0-5 defeat to Saint-Étienne, extremist fans assaulted the entire team and threw firecrackers at players in front of players and coaches’ families. Victims included Hassen, Digard, and Gomis, while coach Puel and assistant Mengual were also shoved by fans.

L’Équipe questioned why the French Interior Ministry has not disbanded the extremist fan groups responsible. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez, who has served in police departments in Marseille and Paris, is no stranger to extremist fan violence. French media hope he will decisively dissolve certain extremist groups like his predecessor Retalier did, but so far, no signs of punishment for the offenders have appeared.