Lille fans 'ambushed' ahead of Bologna Champions League clash: club

Two Lille fans were stabbed during an attack by dozens of Bologna supporters ahead of the two teams' Champions League match, the French Ligue 1 club said on Wednesday. In a statement, Lille said both fans “received medical treatment” after the attack outside a bar in the northern Italian city late on Tuesday. “The club unconditionally condemns this cowardly and intolerable attack, which violates all the values ​​of football,” Lille said before Wednesday's game. Italian media cited local police as saying that 80 people, possibly Bologna supporters, armed with metal rods and belts attacked about 30 Lille fans outside a bar in the city's university district.

Video published online showed a large group of men roaming the streets, most of whom were dressed in black and wearing balaclavas.

Police say a total of three Lille fans were injured during the attack, all three of whom were treated and then released from Bologna's Sant'Orsola hospital.

Lille are in the race for a place in the Champions League last 16 play-off as they sit in 17th place, while Bologna have one point after four matches and are struggling to avoid relegation.