2023-10-30 17:05:25
Spectators leaving the Stade-Vélodrome, October 29, 2023, after the postponement of the Ligue 1 match between Marseille and Lyon. CHRISTOPHE SIMON / AFP
Sunday October 29, at 8:42 p.m., barely three minutes before the time initially scheduled for the kick-off of the match of the 10th day of Ligue 1 between Olympique de Marseille (OM) and Olympique Lyonnais (OL ), the Stade-Vélodrome announcer announced to the spectators in the stands that the match would ultimately not take place. During its journey to the enclosure, a little earlier, the coach of the Rhone team was the target of projectile throws from around a hundred individuals, injuring the coach, Fabio Grosso, and his assistant, Raffaele Longo.
Read also: Kick-off of the OM-OL Ligue 1 match canceled after the Lyon bus was stoned in Marseille
Six out of the ten coaches carrying supporters were also damaged, four were unable to leave. The car of OL president John Textor was also targeted when he left Marseille. Monday morning, the Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, specified on BFM TV that nine people had been arrested. The two clubs have announced their intention to file a complaint, a procedure which will be joined by the Professional Football League (LFP), which governs the French first and second division championships.
The violence of the incident, embodied by the images of the Italian technician’s bloodied face, immediately caused a wave of indignation. Facts “inadmissible”reacted the deputy president of OM, Pablo Longoria, taking care, however, in the midst of his condemnation, to recall that these had occurred on public roads.
A relatively light safety device
According to the LFP regulations, the club visited is “held responsible for incidents that may occur within the stadium”. But he also specifies that“in the event of hostile demonstrations against referees, delegates, players and managers of the visiting team, as well as supporters, he must, with the head of the police force, take all necessary measures to ensure the protection of the persons concerned , even outside [du stade] ».
In a press release, published Sunday evening, OL regretted “that this type of situation occurs every year in Marseille, and invites[ait] the authorities to take stock of the seriousness and repetition of this type of incident before an even more serious tragedy occurs”. For good reason: this is the fourth time in ten years that the Lyon players’ bus has received projectiles in the Marseille city.
The screen announcing the postponement of the League 1 match between Olympique de Marseille and Lyon, at the Stade-Vélodrome, in Marseille, October 29, 2023. DANIEL COLE / AP
Sunday evening’s match was classified 4 out of 5, that is to say high risk, by the services of the national division for the fight against hooliganism. And although the Rhodanians’ bus was indeed escorted by a convoy, it was nevertheless a relatively light device – two cars and two motorbikes, compared to around twenty vehicles in normal times. “Five hundred police officers and gendarmes were mobilized”said Gérald Darmanin on Monday, refuting any “failure” this side. Before adding: “It’s up to the club to manage its supporters. »
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