Barrier collapse at Thionville youth football match injures twenty fans

This was supposed to be an ordinary match between the U18 teams of Sporting Bertrange, and Coume, after which the fans gathered at the stadium would return to their homes. Instead, some fans had to go to the hospital due to a barrier-breaking in the stands.

On Sunday, 9 June, the U18 teams of US Bertrange and Coume FC played at the Guentrange stadium in Thionville. The stands were filled with fans eager for excitement, but they experienced terrifying moments instead.

At one point, the barriers in the stands broke (you can see the photo at the end of the article), causing the fans leaning on them to fall to the ground from a height of about 1.5 metres. According to the francebleu.fr portal, twenty fans were injured.

Fourteen of them required medical assistance in the hospital, and three of them sustained serious injuries. These included a broken shinbone, a broken arm, and a crushed finger. Meanwhile, after receiving first aid at the scene, the remaining six people who fell from the stands returned home.

Thionville Mayor Pierre Cuny explained to the media that the frightening events occurred at the end of the match. Emergency services arrived at the scene, including ambulances and the fire department. Additionally, an investigation has been launched to determine the causes of the accident.

Both clubs, competing on the field at the time of the unfortunate incident, have not commented on social media. It should be noted that US Guentrange's headquarters is located in Thionville, a city in the northeastern French department of Moselle.

Let us recall that similar incidents have happened with much worse consequences. In 1985, during the Champions League final match between Juventus and Liverpool, one of the stands collapsed.

The Heysel Stadium was not adequately prepared to host many fans. The walls and fences were in poor technical condition, and the security systems were insufficient to control the crowd. Thirty-nine people died.