Facing possible sanctions from UEFA after the crowd disorder that delayed its Europa League quarterfinal against Besiktas, French club Lyon said Friday it was the "victim" of visiting hooligans.
Incidents inside Lyon's Parc OL, which will host the final next season, followed fighting among rival French and Turkish fans earlier in the city on Thursday. About 20 minutes before the scheduled kickoff, Lyon fans spilled onto the field for their own safety as fireworks were set off and missiles thrown from an upper section of the stadium housing Besiktas supporters. The game did finally kick off 45 minutes late after police intervened in the stands.
Lyon's deputy general counsel, Vincent Ponsot, admitted the French league club's responsibility in the disorder but insisted Besiktas fans created the trouble.
"As organisers we bear a part of the responsibility, except that it is clear that we have been the victim of an aggression that did not come from supporters, but from Turkish hooligans," Ponsot told a news conference, adding that UEFA had opened a disciplinary procedure.
Lyon's director of security, Annie Saladin, said about 50 Turkish fans forced their way inside the stadium and were responsible for the trouble. She said they threw projectiles from the upper stands, forcing other supporters to find shelter on the pitch.
"Even with 700 police officers we did not manage to contain this group," Saladin said. "They were determined and they got what they wanted."
Saladin added that, once identified, the group of violent fans was evacuated from the stadium by police.
However, some Lyon fans also sought to confront their Turkish counterparts outside the stadium before the game -- and then inside the stadium -- with dozens clashing.
On the field, Lyon trailed until the 84th minute before scoring twice to seize a 2-1 victory. The return match is next Thursday in Istanbul, which has a reputation as among the most hostile cities in Europe for visiting fans.
Lyon last week had already recommended their fans not travel to to Turkey for the return leg, a situation president Jean-Michel Aulas said will be "unfair."
"I don't know what should be done: to play behind closed doors or elsewhere [at a neutral venue]," Aulas asked. "It would be very dangerous to take on this team [in presence of] the same supporters as tonight. We don't really feel reassured."
Aulas urged UEFA "to take its responsibilities," and asked "for heavy sanctions against those who have injured our supporters."
UEFA had increased security measures at its Champions League and Europa League matches this week after Borussia Dortmund's team bus was targeted by a bomb attack on Tuesday. Dortmund's game against Monaco in the Champions League quarterfinals was postponed and played on Wednesday.
Prior to the Champions League match between Paris Saint-Germain and Galatasaray at Parc des Princes in March 2001, fans fought running battles outside the stadium and then engaged in ferocious clashes inside the stadium, leaving dozens with minor injuries.
The ill-feeling between PSG and Galatasaray still lingers. Before the match between Turkey and Croatia during last year's European Championship in France -- which was held at PSG's stadium -- some 100 PSG fans tried to attack hardcore supporters from Galatasaray as they left the metro station, but were pushed back by riot police.
In April 2000, two English fans from Leeds were stabbed to death during clashes prior to a UEFA Cup semifinal against Galatasaray in Istanbul.