PSV is ‘deeply ashamed’ of riots during the Champions League match with Lens

24 people were slightly injured during riots prior to the Champions League match between RC Lens and PSV last night. This is reported by the French police. It is not known how many Dutch supporters are involved.

PSV says it is “deeply ashamed” of the events of Tuesday evening in Lens.

“Although we are in contact with all supporter groups towards this match, things went wrong during halftime,” a spokeswoman said. “We put a lot of energy and time into continuing to talk to supporters’ associations and then a small group spoils it. We are now conducting the investigation in collaboration with the French authorities, the images have been requested and when we see who they are, we will we will tackle the perpetrators harshly.”

About two thousand PSV supporters were present in the French city. In the center, some clashed with Lens supporters and the police. The police used tear gas and batons, etc can be seen on images from a French journalist.

The PSV Supporters Association writes in a response to X that the French police are “again using completely unnecessary disproportionate force”.

Chairman of the supporters’ association Rob Bogaarts also believes that the majority of fans have behaved in an exemplary manner. “All kinds of things have gone wrong, let’s be clear. And I cannot deny that things have been thrown back and forth, but now the image exists as if we are all serious hooligans. That is of course nonsense.”

“There is a small group that we are concerned about. There is always a jerk among them who ruins it. Let’s zoom in on that.”

It was also restless during the match, writes Broadcasting Brabant. Chairs were thrown back and forth and some pieces of fireworks ended up in the section with Lens supporters.

According to a reporter from the broadcaster, the mobile unit was quickly on the scene to prevent a confrontation in the stadium.

PSV striker Luuk de Jong was not pleased with the behavior of the rioters. “That’s always annoying, you don’t want to see these kinds of things. It’s a small group that does that. They ruin it for the others,” he said after the match. which ended 1-1. “If we have to play away games without fans, that will also affect the players.”

The Eindhoven club is not doing well with the European football association UEFA after last season. PSV supporters then caused destruction and threw objects after the away match against Arsenal in the Europa League.

UEFA then punished PSV by playing one away match without fans, at the Norwegian club Bodø/Glimt. PSV also had to pay a fine of 40,000 euros and consult with Arsenal about compensation for the damage. It is not yet clear whether the riots in Lens will again lead to a punishment for PSV.