2023-10-29 23:02:19
“Unacceptable acts”. The match between Marseille and Lyon was canceled on Sunday October 29 after incidents ahead of the match at the Stade Vélodrome, when projectiles targeted the Olympique Lyonnais team bus, injuring coach Fabio Grosso, and Lyon supporters bus.
“With the advice of OL and the protocol, the decision not to start the match was made”announced match referee François Letexier, adding that reports “were transmitted to the competent authorities who will decide on further action.”
Incidents on the bus route
During the meeting of the crisis unit set up after incidents that occurred on the journey to the Vélodrome, “Olympique Lyonnais has made known its opposition to taking part in the match given the circumstances », Confirmed the Professional Football League (LFP) in a press release.
“It will now be up to the competitions commission to decide on the fate of this meeting” she added without specifying when she would meet.
Lyon’s Italian coach Fabio Grosso and his assistant Raffaele Longo were injured. In images from broadcaster Prime Video, the coach was seen with a bloody face, then with a bandage on his head as he left the infirmary located in the corridors of the Stade Vélodrome.
A photo circulating on X (formerly Twitter) shows him lying on a stretcher with a wound on his left eyelid, the arch and above the eyebrow.
Multiple traumas for Grosso
The technician was the victim of numerous dizziness and suffered from multiple traumas, according to a source close to OL.
Around 6:45 p.m., the OL team bus was stoned and four windows were broken, according to a police source.
Furthermore, at least one bus of Lyon supporters was attacked and the windows were damaged, injuring several people on board, another police source told AFP.
Seven people were arrested, including two for throwing objects at buses, said the Marseille police headquarters.
“Revolting images” according to the Minister of Sports
“These images are revolting: seeing the stoned bus like that, the bloody face of Fabio Grosso… These are unacceptable acts which deny the very values of football and sport. I hope that the investigation will be carried out very quickly, that the perpetrators will be found and that they will be severely punished”declared Sports Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, on the sidelines of a sports ceremony in Paris.
According to the minister, “It is profoundly unfair and these actions, committed outside a stadium and which spoil the sporting event, must be eradicated with the greatest determination”.
Pablo Longoria, the boss of OM, condemned “completely unacceptable circumstances”. “My first thought is for Fabio Grosso, someone I respect and have known for a long time. I went to see him as soon as I arrived at the stadium, I saw his condition”he said in the mixed zone.
The president of Lyon, John Textor, said he “disappointed and angry” after these incidents “shocking”. “There was more than broken glass. Once the window was broken, other projectiles hit him”he explained, referring to “beer bottles”.
In a press release, OL announced their intention to “file a complaint in the coming days” confirming that six supporter buses had been targeted.
The Marseille police chief, Frédérique Camilleri, denounced during a press point “a handful of unconscious, irresponsible people who ruined a sports festival for 65,000 people”while the arrival of the 600 Lyon supporters at the Vélodrome had been the subject of preparation with the groups of supporters of the two teams.
An “unacceptable attack” for the mayor of Marseille
“The attack on the bus and the OL players is unacceptable. Support and recovery for their coach and his assistant »continued the mayor of Marseille Benoît Payan.
Two hours after the scheduled kick-off time, the Lyon supporters were greeted by the coach, the boss and the OL players even though they had still not left their enclosure. They should be evacuated under heavy police protection.
Thank you for your support ????❤️???? pic.twitter.com/i7arys0ghO
— Olympique Lyonnais (@OL) October 29, 2023
After a catastrophic start to the season, Lyon was last in Ligue 1 before this 10th day, and Olympique de Marseille eighth.
#MarseilleLyon #match #canceled #stone #attack #Lyon #bus