Four were arrested during January ‘Ultras’ attack on Marseille’s training ground

Four people were jailed on Monday and two were cleared of charges following violent incidents outside the Ligue 1 football club Marseille’s training center in January.

The leaders of two hardcore Marseille fan groups, a secretary who helped the organization and a fan who carried fireworks, were sentenced to up to a year in prison.

In France, a defendant would normally avoid actually going to prison if he was sentenced to less than two years.

The six defendants, including Rachid Zeroual, 50, leader of the South Winners group, and Christophe Bourguignon, the 49-year-old head of the CU84 group, were charged with “participating in a group formed to plan violence.”

Three were accused of injuries and “violence with the use or threat of weapons”.

The accused also include the secretary of South Winners, who is employed by the City Council, a truck driver and a supplier.

All six appeared in court in jeans and shirts without any visible signs of their support for the club.

On January 30, about 300 supporters, angry at the result of disappointing results, gathered outside the club’s La Commanderie training center to demand the resignation of the club’s then president, Jacques-Henri Eyraud, who has since been ousted.

They threw fireworks and smoke bombs and some entered the center and reached the changing rooms.

Windows were also broken and cars damaged, said court official Nathalie Marty.

The club has estimated that the damage was worth “at least 87,000 euros”.

This is the second case that stems from the events.

In the first, eleven supporters arrested at the time of the protest received six months’ imprisonment, a 12th, already known to the courts for theft, was given a three-month sentence while two were acquitted.

(AFP)