PARIS: French Sports Secretary Thierry Braillard has called for tighter security controls at the finals of the European Championship next year.

Braillard’s demand followed crowd trouble at Sunday’s league match between Marseille and Lyon when the game was interrupted for 23 minutes by hooligans throwing bottles onto the pitch at the Stade Velodrome.

Both cities are Euro 2016 host venues.

Braillard said: “It’s unacceptable and I think we need to be firmer on the security checks. We’re six months away from the Euro, which is a fantastic event, and I’m urging everyone to take lessons from what happened. There are security conditions that need to be respected. You cannot have glass bottles in the stands.”

Marseille president Vincent Labrune said the club would “accept its responsibilities” and added today that safety nets would be put up to protect players on the pitch.

League president Frederic Thiriez said that it was time to consider harsher penalties for such incidents, suggesting that fines of up to €50,000 “looks like very little for this kind of thing.” Points deductions should be considered, he thought.

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