FC Servette plays in front of empty stands at home stadium

This is an arbitrary and completely disproportionate solution, said Loïc Luscher, Head of Communications at FC Servette, to French-speaking Swiss television and radio RTS. Almost 3,000 season ticket holders, who on average visit these stands at home matches, are being punished for the actions of a single person.

In the stadium, the fans of the Geneva and Zurich clubs reacted around fifteen minutes after the start of the game. Both sides held up banners in French and German opposing the measure.

The Geneva authorities had already announced on Tuesday that the north stand would remain closed to Servette fans. This was in response to the fans' behavior last weekend, which was deemed "irresponsible".

According to a statement from the canton, pyrotechnics were set off in a "coordinated and massive" manner at last Saturday's match against FC Sion. This endangered the safety of spectators and players - despite the measures taken following riots at Lausanne train station on February 15.

On that occasion, around 40 cables were set alight at Lausanne station after a pyrotechnic object was thrown from a train carrying Servette FC fans. In total, the SBB teams had to reconnect around 1000 cables. Rail traffic was severely disrupted for several days as a result.

Following these incidents, a level 2 measure of the "Progresso" model had already been imposed on FC Servette for two matches. This involves systematic pat-downs and increased video surveillance. These measures remain in force.

However, the situation did not prevent Servette from beating FCZ 2:1 on Saturday, ending a long dry spell. FC Servette had not celebrated a victory in front of its fans since October 26.