Spectators threw smoke bombs and projectiles at each amid crowd violence which delayed the start of a Europa Conference League game in Nice, France.

Trouble escalated ahead of kickoff as fans from OGC Nice and German club Cologne clashed at the Allianz Riviera Stadium on Thursday September 8.

The kickoff was pushed back by 55 minutes to 7.40 p.m. local time because of crowd disturbances. Fans were fighting before the start of the match at the Nice stadium.

French media reported that 18 people were injured. The game ended in a 1-1 draw.


An OGC Nice spokesman said: 'OGC Nice condemns in the strongest possible manner the incidents that took place before the match, which began with damage in the city, followed by the forced entry of dozens of hooligans from the area reserved for Cologne supporters into the presidential stand.

'Stunned by this outburst of violence, even though they had done everything possible to welcome the FC Cologne fans in the best possible conditions, OGC Nice expresses its distress for the Nice public, who witnessed and were victims of these incidents and were forced to wait nearly 45 minutes before being allowed to enter their stadium before kick-off.'

An FC Köln spokesman added: 'The club condemns every form of violence in the strongest possible terms. We stand for a sporting, fair and respectful behavior with one another. We apologize to all the peaceful fans who had made it a football festival up until this point.'