More than five years after Marseille supporters forced their way into the club’s Commanderie training complex, part of the legal aftermath has reached its end. Several defendants convicted over the 2021 “Revolution of the Cypresses” have withdrawn from their appeal, making the original verdicts final.
Key takeaways
- Some supporters convicted for their role in the January 2021 attack on Marseille’s training centre have abandoned their appeal.
- Their hearing had been scheduled at the Aix-en-Provence Court of Appeal on Monday and Tuesday.
- The first-instance sentences, ranging from suspended six-month terms to three months in prison, are now final for those involved.
- A separate appeal case linked to the same events is still awaiting a hearing.
- That remaining file concerns, among others, supporters’ association figures Rachid Zeroual and Hamza Baggour.
First verdicts now stand
The defendants had initially been sentenced in 2021 for taking part in the attack on La Commanderie, Marseille’s training ground, at the start of that year.
They were due to return before the appeal court in Aix-en-Provence this week, but a collective withdrawal brought that stage of the proceedings to a halt. The rulings delivered at first instance therefore become definitive for the supporters who stepped away from the appeal.
The penalties imposed in the original case ranged from six-month suspended sentences to three months in prison.
Another case remains pending
The judicial consequences of the episode are not entirely over. A further appeal file connected to the “Revolution of the Cypresses” has yet to be listed for a hearing.
That case notably involves leaders of supporters’ associations, including Rachid Zeroual and Hamza Baggour. Their appeal proceedings remain unresolved, while the convictions of the group that withdrew are now settled.
