Disillusioned PSG fans turn on each other

The Beautiful Game has turned ugly at Paris Saint-Germain this season both on and off the pitch after the capital club’s own fans fought amongst themselves following the weekend’s game against Marseille.

Supporters of the southern club boycotted the trip north in protest at tough security measures and restricted ticket sales, but that failed to stop trouble flaring up outside the Parc des Princes after Sunday’s ‘Le Clasico’.

A bitter power struggle between two groups of PSG hardcore supporters, the Boulogne Boys and the Tigris Mystic, clashed after the 3-0 defeat to Marseille in the latest twist of a long-running feud between the two camps.

The rivalry is traditionally divided along racial lines.

Set up in 1985, the Boulogne Boys – their name comes from the stand where they sit – hail from white, working-class backgrounds, while the Tigris Mystic firm come from the multiracial Parisian suburbs.

“The Boulogne Boys have made a habit of being the boss around here but a lot of people are no longer willing to accept that,” said one member of the Tigris Mystic, that sit in PSG’s Auteuil stand.

The renewed tensions between the two firms is set to add to the Paris club’s woes in what is already turning out a season to forget.

A disastrous league campaign means the fallen French giants sit in 12th place. The team are regularly booed off the pitch and fans also want coach Antoine Kombouare and PSG’s American owners, private equity firm Colony Capital, to end their association with the club.

Officials says they will “take steps” to avert the end of the season being marred by violence, including the scrapping of official travel to away games.

A decision could be taken by Saturday’s game against Lens with the rival factions already eyeing the French Cup quarter-final at Auxerre on March 23 as an opportunity to settle some scores.

One influential Tigris Mystic member said he was pessimistic about the chances of avoiding further clashes between rival PSG hooligans.

“The big fear is that the local authorities will ban these groups as this will only spark the beginning of their radicalisation (and drive them underground,” he said.

Last week, six Paris Saint-Germain fans were arrested prior to the Marseille-FC Copenhagen Europa League match after they attempted to infiltrate groups of Danish supporters by local riot police in several areas of the city including the surroundings of Marseille’s Stade Velodrome.