2023-10-31 09:00:00
A coach with a bloody face, several stoned buses and another chaotic evening for French football: the Sunday evening poster between Olympique de Marseille and Olympique Lyonnais was postponed due to the incidents preceding the match.
Pierre Barthélemy, lawyer for supporters associations, returns to Point on these scenes which further damage the image of the football. He insists on the need not to break off dialogue for the future.
Point : What was your first reaction when discovering the images from the Vélodrome, and in particular those of Fabio Grosso shot in the head?
Pierre Barthélemy: It’s a huge feeling of waste because it comes in a context where the Minister of Sports and the Minister of the Interior want to make the travel ban an exception. We are for management, we want to encourage the movement of supporters by making them responsible. Moreover, for this match, the prefect of Bouches-du-Rhône did a lot of work, giving dialogue a chance. All that is shattered today because of ten, fifteen people outside the stadium who were not even involved in these productive exchanges. These individuals do not understand the scope of their actions.
�� OL strongly condemns the unacceptable racist behavior of individuals in the yard on Sunday. The club requested the videos to identify the perpetrators of any act contrary to the law, but also contrary to its values, and reiterates its desire to keep them away from the stands.
— Olympique Lyonnais (@OL) October 30, 2023
Do you think we will see travel bans increase in the coming weeks?
I don’t think so, for two reasons: first, the groundwork carried out over several years is solid. We have created certain tools, such as the supporter referent or the visiting supporter referent police officer, in order to better communicate between all parties. Then, we had many more control orders than just travel bans. However, the reluctant prefects will be even more reluctant: we must hope that after the emotion, reason will take over.
Is the Olympique de Marseille club at fault regarding the events of Sunday evening?
No, I don’t see how it could be. The events took place on public roads. OM and its leaders cannot be held responsible, neither on the basis of the LFP regulations nor on the basis of any legal text. A case-by-case analysis must be carried out to organize matches. When we look at the location of the Vélodrome, located in the city center, traffic is difficult for coaches and this makes the journey difficult.
The Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, pointed the finger at the responsibility of the clubs and supporters. But security failed all the same?
I am always wary of truncated videos, I had quite a few exchanges with ministries and journalists, there were several police vans all along the route of the Lyon buses. During the first jets of projectiles, they formed a human chain to protect them. Some police officers were injured. Unless you close entire neighborhoods, you cannot anticipate this type of situation and prevent someone from throwing an object. If anyone needs to improve their system, it’s the State. As with the incidents that occurred during the 2022 Champions League final at the Stade de France, the Minister of the Interior is engaged in political communication. He doesn’t wait for audits and rushes.
Since the 2021-2022 season, we have seen an increase in serious incidents in our stadiums. How can we remedy this drastically?
Unfortunately, we must accept that there is no miracle solution and understand that zero risk does not exist. And not only in France: there have been incidents this season in the Netherlands and England but also acts of racism in Spain. Vehicles being stoned happen every week, and not just during football matches. This is crime of opportunity: we must not generalize and make hasty judgments about football and its supporters. Last season, 13 million visitors went to Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 stadiums. We have an average of 500 incidents per season, including pyrotechnics and counterfeit tickets. Today, incidents of violence are a minority, but the media echo chamber is worthy of an earthquake every time.
Finally, in the Lyon visitors’ park, we saw several supporters making Nazi salutes. How can clubs and authorities counter these attitudes?
The investigation will have to determine who these people are. We have the interference of politics and an ideology of hatred in the stands. These 600 Lyonnais stayed three hours in this parking lot, I think we have the capacity to identify and question those who made these actions. I know that Jean-Michel Aulas had produced enormous work on this, notably at the Virage Sud of the Olympique Lyonnais stadium where there was no longer any collective hateful expression. His departure should not reopen the floodgates and bring this type of individual back into the stands.
#improve #system #State