Lyon apologise for Spurs pub attack

Three fans were injured in the pub attack. Picture: Paul Hirst/PA Wire

Sebastian Mann Thursday, February 21, 2013
3:06 PM

Lyon Football Club have apologised for last night’s reportedly anti-Semitic attack in a bar in the French city which left three Spurs fans injured.

The team said it “deplored” the actions of its “pseudo” supporters, who attacked a group of 150 Tottenham fans gathered in the Smoking Dog pub in Lyon ahead of the Europa League game between the two sides this evening.

Eyewitnesses said around 50 masked thugs smashed doors and threw cast-iron chairs, wooden objects, and a lit flare into the pub, which is popular among ex-pats.

In their statement, the club blasts the attackers, who allegedly made fascist salutes as they rounded on the bar.

The team said: “Olympique Lyonnais deplore the incidents overnight in the Saint-Jean district between the supporters of Tottenham and the ‘pseudo’ supporters of Lyon, who absolutely do not represent the club.”

“Olympique Lyonnais apologises to Tottenham and its supporters, for the inadmissible acts which degrade the image of the town of Lyon.

“Olympique Lyonnais call on the French justice system to impose severe sanctions for these reprehensible acts.”

The owner of a nearby pub, Kirwan, said he thought it was luckly no one died in the incident.

“Last night a metal object weighing about 20kg came through the window and smashed an entire metal bar stool to pieces.

“If that had hit someone on the head they would have been killed stone dead.

“One Tottenham fan was hit with a flying object, another was trampled on, and a third was dragged out and attacked by the skinheads before we managed to pull him back in to safety.”

Spurs confirmed this morning three fans had sustained “minor injuries” and were in hospital. They said arrests had been made.

This is the second time in three months Tottenham fans have been targeted in an apparently anti-Semitic attack.

In November, fans of the club, which has a traditionally strong Jewish following, were ambushed inside a pub in Rome on the eve of their game against Lazio.