French Match is ABANDONED after Furious Troyes Fans Throw Flares on the Pitch in Wild Group Protest from vitrail aube Watch Video

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✓ Published: 04-May-2024

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Troyes fans caused carnage as they protested against their City Football Group ownership with flares and chants on Friday night. <br/><br/>Their Ligue 2 match against Valenciennes was abandoned in the blazing scenes, with players even lobbing flares back into the stands.<br/><br/>City Football Group's ownership has been disastrous for Troyes, who are on the brink of a second successive relegation.<br/><br/>Police with helmets quickly closed rank in front of the fans as the game, poised at 1-1 in the 89th minute, was called off. Seven points off Dunkerque with three games left, they need a miracle to stay up. <br/><br/>Fans chanted 'Merci City' in bitter acknowledgment of the havoc wreaked on their football club. <br/><br/>While CFG-owned Girona in Spain is delighted with being third in La Liga, clubs in France have strongly opposed multi-club ownership.<br/><br/>Strasbourg fans consistently protest against Todd Boehly and BlueCo, the Chelsea owners who bought a majority stake in the Ligue 1 club last summer. <br/><br/>Last week they chanted 'casse-toi' against Boehly and BlueCo, which translates to 'get lost' in its mildest sense, and 'f*** off' in its extremest form. <br/><br/>Lorient, in whom Bournemouth chairman Billy Foley has a significant minority stake, is in the drop zone of Ligue 1. <br/><br/>Troyes have a particular axe to grind. They won the Ligue 2 title in their first season of CFG ownership but have slumped since. <br/><br/>Savio, a club-record signing from Atletico Mineiro, has never played for the club. He has been loaned out to PSV and Girona and reports suggest he will join Manchester City in the summer. <br/><br/>Other expensive, young signings from 2022 have also had limited game time before curiously being sent out on loan. <br/><br/>Supporter group Magic Troyes 1997 even boycotted the Stade de l'Aube for a period. <br/><br/>Troyes condemned the protests on Friday night, writing on X: 'ESTAC Troyes condemns the actions of a minority of supporters following this evening's home game against Valenciennes.<br/><br/>'Pyrotechnic devices were thrown from the stands onto the field on several occasions, which ultimately prevented the end of the match.<br/><br/>'These actions resulted in the referee having no choice but to suspend the match before its conclusion.<br/><br/>'The context of fan disappointment does not excuse or mitigate this behavior, and we now await decisions from the football authorities.'<br/>