On Wednesday, Marseille-born rapper, Jul held a concert in Paris at the AccorHotels Arena that was interrupted several times by Paris Saint-Germain supporters.
According to the report from L’Equipe, Jul performed for several hours and had to endure fighting in the crowd, which appears to have been caused by K-Soce Team, a faction of Collectif Ultras Paris. On Thursday, CUP released this statement:
Communiqué 👇 pic.twitter.com/WUwSB6eT3c
— Collectif Ultras Paris (@Co_Ultras_Paris) November 14, 2019
The statement from CUP essentially says that they deny any involvement in the incidents at the concert and they shouldn’t be blamed just because some of the provocateurs were wearing PSG jerseys. They went on to condemned the incident and state that they were honoring the victims of the Bataclan attack on November 13 and it would never occur to them to cause chaos at a concert venue especially on that date.
#13Novembre2015 On oubliera jamais !! pic.twitter.com/dxfzDfnXKx
— Collectif Ultras Paris (@Co_Ultras_Paris) November 13, 2019
It wasn’t until a flood of videos hit social media that it became clear that some PSG Ultras were involved in the incidents at the Jul concert. Speaking to Le Parisien, Romain Mabille, the president of CUP, stated that young supporters from several groups in the Auteuil stand were involved and said they did unveil a banner that read “Marseille not welcome.”
“If it turns out that some have been violent, they will be excluded,” Mabille said to Le Parisien.
There will be an investigation and those responsible will likely face the consequences of their actions that night.
It’s easy to blame football supporters but like with any large group, it’s next to impossible to control every member and know what they’re doing every minute of the day. From the reporting, it sounds like younger members of the Ultras were involved and it’s a mistake they will have to learn from.
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