29 people were injured at the weekend when a barrier collapsed during the Ligue 1 clash between Amiens and Lille at the Stade de la Licorne.
The awful incident occurred on 16 minutes, after Fode Ballo-Toure had scored for the visitors.
As the away fans celebrated the goal, the barrier in front of the celebrating fans gave way, with a large number of fans falling around a metre and a half onto the pitch…
🆘‼️😱⚽️ #France: #Amiens vs #Lille, there was a disaster. Safety fence collapsed under the weight of fans. 26 injuries (4 of them severe). pic.twitter.com/y7yzfJ4UKL
— Onlinemagazin (@OnlineMagazin) October 1, 2017
After the terrifying incident, the game was suspended and the stadium evacuated.
Unfortunately, a number of fans were reported to have been seriously injured, with the local authorities opening an investigation into the incident.
After the game, Amiens’ club president Bernard Joannin reportedly claimed that the Lille fans were responsible for the accident, blaming the visiting club’s ultras.
Not surprisingly, this has not gone down well with Lille, with their chief executive Marc Ingla resonding on Twitter, saying:
The statement from Amiens’ president is irresponsible and inflammatory in the context of this situation.
We hope the LFP (Ligue de Football Professionnel) identifies those responsible. Our supporters are impeccable and professional football needs to be better organised.
In a very welcome update on Sunday afternoon, Lille announced via Twitter that all the fans involved in the incident had left hospital.
🔴 Bonne nouvelle ! Tous les supporters lillois blessés lors de #ASCLOSC ont désormais quitté le CHU d’Amiens. On pense fort à eux ! 🙂
— LOSC (@losclive) October 1, 2017
Let’s hope the authorities get to the bottom of this rather worrying incident.