Two African players attacked by their own supporters

In the league, they could still manage somehow. But in the Europa League – a complete disaster and last place in the group after five consecutive defeats. And although the draw and schedule were not kind to them (they lost to Roma, Fenerbahce, Celta, Freiburg, and Porto), Nice fans completely lost their minds when those international failures were followed by domestic ones as well. A narrow 0–1 to Paris Saint-Germain is one thing, but a debacle against their neighbors Olympique Marseille (1–5), then a 1–3 loss to Lorient for their sixth defeat in a row? Fans had had enough.

That’s why, last night around 11:15 PM, the team bus was met with a hostile reception in front of the training center on Jean Luciani Boulevard. At least 400 of the most passionate supporters gathered to rub the latest failure in the players’ faces. Insults were expected, as were fireworks, but it quickly turned violent. Even the police couldn’t react in time. Local media report that sporting director Florian Maurice was slapped and kicked in the legs, with hooligans trying to trip him. President Fabrice Bocquet was luckily not on the bus, but that only enraged the fans even more. Coach Franck Haise was not targeted, although they “advised” him to throw the youngsters into the fire.

“We’d rather lose with them than with these starlets” they said.

Particularly under fire was the duo of Jeremie Boga and Terem Moffi. Moffi was criticized because he was filmed after the loss to Lorient chatting with the president of his former club, Loic Fery—joking and laughing. Boga, who was born in Marseille, committed a much bigger “sin” when he gave tickets to certain fans of the opposing club ahead of the derby with OM. Those fans “thanked” him by celebrating Marseille’s win on social media and mocking Nice supporters. Boga has already apologized, but they clearly haven’t forgiven him. They even snatched his cap off.

Because of that, he now wants to leave. Both he and Moffi do. Jonathan Clauss has also wanted out for a while—this June he even skipped a match because he insisted on transferring to Bayer Leverkusen. Moffi and Boga made their decision last night. They have allegedly already informed the club management. They also took medical leave until the end of the week, meaning they won’t play against Angers this weekend. They submitted documentation about the injuries they suffered. Sporting director Maurice is preparing a similar step. Reportedly Haise as well, who is even ready to give up his entire salary, despite refusing to resign just a week earlier so as not to abandon his players. He had also said he had no problem being sacked if it would result in a “shock therapy.” Now, however, the last straw has been reached. The whole commotion lasted an entire hour before the fans dispersed. But it’s obvious this won’t be the end of it.