City Football Group's Ligue 2 club Troyes has had its home league match against Valenciennes canceled due to unrest from supporters at the club, which is in danger of being relegated for the second consecutive year.
The match was stopped in the 89th minute with the score at 1-1 due to a number of smoke bombs and flares being thrown onto the pitch by some of the home supporters. It was later abandoned by match officials.
Troyes, who were relegated from Ligue 1 last season, are in danger of being relegated for the second year in a row. With this game abandoned, they now have seven points with three games remaining.
❌ View images of matches being suspended@estac_officiel Such @VAFC ! #League2KBT pic.twitter.com/hhpCcKhnVh
— Prime Video Sports France (@PVSportFR) May 3, 2024
Troyes said in a post-match statement that the club “condemns the actions of a small number of supporters after tonight's home game against Valenciennes”.
“On several occasions, incendiary devices were thrown onto the field from the stands, ultimately preventing the end of the match. These acts forced the referee to stop the match before it was over.”
The statement concluded: “The circumstances of the fans' disappointment do not excuse or mitigate this behavior and we are currently awaiting the decision of the football authorities.”
Troyes were acquired by City Football Group in September 2020, but despite being promoted to Ligue 1 in 2020/21, they have struggled on the pitch over the past two seasons.
They finished 19th in Ligue 1 last season, a safe 12 points away, but are now set to be relegated to French football's third tier, Championnat Nacional.
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Founded in 2013, City Football Group is majority-owned by Abu Dhabi United Group, owned by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a member of the Abu Dhabi Royal Family and Vice President of the United Arab Emirates. are doing.
Manchester City is the flagship club in the group, which includes 12 clubs in Troyes, including Spanish team Girona, Italian Serie B team Palermo, MLS club New York City and Japan's Yokohama F. Marinos.
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