(Reuters) - Ligue 1 club Nantes said they were saddened after a supporter died ahead of Saturday's 1-0 league win over Nice.
The fan, a member of Nantes supporters group Loire Brigade, was stabbed before the match at the Beaujoire Stadium, sports newspaper L'Equipe reported.
"FC Nantes were saddened to learn that a Nantes supporter was fatally injured," the club said in a statement on Sunday.
"In circumstances that are the subject of an ongoing judicial investigation, the 31-year-old collapsed, having been struck in the back. Despite the intervention of the emergency services, the fan could not be saved.
"The Public Prosecutor's Office has announced that an investigation into voluntary manslaughter has been opened. Numerous witness interviews are currently underway and will continue throughout the night."
Sports minister Amelie Oudea-Castera expressed her condolences in a post on social media platform X, formerly Twitter, adding: "The investigation opened by the public prosecutor must now clarify the exact circumstances of the events."
(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Christopher Cushing)
