Frankfurt / Main (AP) – Three years and three months after Eintracht Frankfurt’s Europa League game at Olympique Marseille, the Hessians have achieved a long legal success. According to the Bundesliga soccer team, an appeal court in Marseille ruled on Wednesday that the illegal war on all Eintracht fans issued by the Bouches-du-Rhône police prefecture against all Eintracht fans in the area of ​​the southern French port city.

Together with the organization Football Supporters Europe (FSE) and the national French fan association ANS, Eintracht brought an action before an appeals court in Marseille. This have now stated that the measure is “neither necessary nor proportionate” and must therefore be declared “null and void”. Due to previous misconduct by Marseille fans, UEFA had issued a general ban on spectators for the game. With the decree, the authorities wanted to prevent Frankfurt fans from taking the planned trip to Marseille without tickets.

“The ruling is certainly a first breakthrough for football fans across Europe who, despite all the legitimate security interests of municipalities and authorities, have a right to the fact that state measures remain lawful and do not violate fundamental rights to an obviously disproportionate degree,” commented Eintracht Justiziar Philipp Reschke made the decision.

© dpa-infocom, dpa: 211222-99-478324 / 3