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Violence Erupts At Allianz Riveria Between Rivals OGC Nice and Bastia

By Lauren Maharaj

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And the drama continues into the weekend, as The Derby de la Mediterranee, Ligue 1’s derby between Mediterranean associations OGC Nice and Bastia went under fire during an already tense match on by the away side. During the contested match at home for OGC Nice at the Allianz Riveria, away side Bastia sealed the mouths of the home supporters by winning the game 1-0 narrowly in the second half. At the conclusion of the match, a riot broke out due to the actions of one bold reserve goalkeeper, Jean Louis Leca. As the away side defeated their rivals in a close fashion, thanks to the goal by Floyd Adite the natural reaction to thank the other team for playing as well as being good opponent slipped the mind of Leca, as he pulled out a Corscian flag, which represents a symbol of protest and clearly offended the OGC Nice supporters to the core.

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To offer some history behind the gravity of the flag, as stated by Wikipedia in simple terms, the flag has large severity behind it, as the portrait upon the flag is also one of a unrest culture.  “The Flag of Corsica …portrays a Moor’s Head in black wearing a white bandana above his eyes on a white background. Previously, the bandana covered his eyes; Paoli wanted the bandana moved to above the eyes to symbolize the liberation of the Corsican people.It was used by the ill-fated Corsican Republic [which was invaded by the French] and was practically banned after 1769, when France bought the island to settle Genovesi debt and put down the endemic rebellion on the island. During this period under French rule, 1769–1789, Corsican patriots again used the version of the flag with blindfolded eyes, as a mark of protest.“

As Leca waved the flag to the Nice “ultra” fans, their reactions pushed them to rush the stands and go after the entire Bastia squad. The panic of the stadium became the same as the Serbia-Albania Euro Qualifying match only last week. The string of political protests and symbolism which is invading the football world at a rapid rate lately is unacceptable, but what make its worse is the indecency of the fans. The people who make the match but also break the match.

According to getfootballnewsfrance.com ,OGC Nice striker Alexy Bosetti had close ties with the group of “ultra” fans which were taunted . This idea certainly stirs lots of  conspiracy and tensions to an all time high. At the same time that Bastia man, Leca continued to wave his flag whilst a crowd of raging fans approached him, captain Dider Digard attempted to remove the flag from the keeper. Chaos continued to ensue.

Also reported by getfootballnewsfrance.com, OGC Nice will have to suffer the consequences of their fans behavior. “What is clear is that OGC Nice will face a stadium ban, with the LFP taking a zero tolerance approach to this sort of barbary.”

Just like any football league, the instances of politic uproar happen, it the descend of its sensibility which needs to be addressed. Yet again we sit and watch as a side gets disciplined and people are arrested, but will that really squash the problem?

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