A regional U20 football match in France descended into chaos on Sunday afternoon, leaving one person seriously injured and sparking widespread concern over rising violence in amateur football across Europe.
The match, part of the Regional 2 Championship, was held at the Dammarie-les-Lys stadium and involved Dammarie-les-Lys U20 and Meaux.
Tensions rose during halftime when a group of young individuals from the local area stormed the field, armed with knives and other weapons, and launched an attack on players from the visiting Meaux team.
According to police sources, the situation escalated rapidly. “A fight broke out, and during the confrontation, one of the Meaux players stabbed an assailant,” a police spokesperson reported. This act of violence triggered immediate retaliation, with multiple individuals targeting the players, leading to further injuries on both sides.
Europe1 crime correspondent Jean-Baptiste Marty further reported: “In the middle of the match, a goalkeeper pulled a knife from his sock and stabbed an opposing player. As the victim’s teammates pursued him, the suspect attempted to escape by jumping into the nearby Seine River before being apprehended by authorities.”
In total, nine individuals were injured during the melee. Two players, in a desperate attempt to flee the violence, also jumped into the Seine. One of them, unable to swim, found himself in distress and was rescued by police officers who plunged into the river to save him.
Meanwhile, the individual who was seriously injured during the stabbing was airlifted to Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital in Paris, where he remains in critical condition.
The Melun police station has been tasked with investigating the incident to clarify the precise circumstances of the attack and identify all those involved. Authorities have not ruled out the possibility of gang-related violence, given the organized nature of the group that stormed the field.
The incident is the latest outbreak of violence to plague amateur football in Western Europe.
In June 2023, the tragic death of a German teenager, Paul P., shocked the football community. Paul was beaten into a coma during a match in Frankfurt am Main by a Moroccan player from a French team. The teenager succumbed to his injuries days later. The Moroccan assailant was charged with “bodily injury resulting in death” and, after nine months in pre-trial detention, received a suspended two-year sentence in March 2024 and was immediately released, sparking public outrage over the leniency of the punishment.
Just months prior, in October 2023, a football club in Germany, Kine em Halle e.V., which proudly promoted its diverse player base, faced severe sanctions after players and fans violently assaulted a referee and opposing players during a match. The club, comprising primarily Kurdish Syrian players, was ordered to play three games without spectators following the incident.
Another disturbing episode occurred in June 2022 in Berlin, where a father stormed the pitch during his son’s youth match between Berliner AK and SC Staaken, choking an opposing player and threatening him with a knife.
A mass brawl erupted during an amateur football match in the German city of Essen on Sunday after a gang invaded the pitch with knives and guns.
Al-Arz Lebanon said on its Instagram page: "A group of armed men ran onto the pitch and attacked spectators and players."
They… pic.twitter.com/h2Lw9BKKsp
— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) May 13, 2024More recently, in May 2024, an amateur football match in Germany was abandoned on Sunday after a gang of around 50 armed men stormed the field with guns and knives and attacked players and supporters.
The brawl occurred at the grounds of Al-Arz Lebanon in the western city of Essen during a match against RuWa Dellwig.
According to the hosts, a group of armed men ran onto the pitch toward the end of the first half of play and began attacking the players.
Around 150 police officers were dispatched to the scene, but the gang had fled before their arrival.
