What a shame ! The meeting between OGC Nice and Olympique de Marseille was interrupted in the 74th minute of play and never resumed this Sunday evening. While OGC Nice was leading a zero, a tide of unconsciousness invaded the lawn to physically attack Marseille players. The trigger, yet another projectile, in this case a bottle of water, thrown in the back of Dimitri Payet’s neck as he was about to take a corner and the Reunionese revived with rage.
It was the spark that launched ten minutes of general and grotesque mayhem. A mismanagement marked by at least one injured person evacuated on a stretcher among the supporters, the worrying speed with which the security services were overwhelmed at the entrance to the pitch and the continued tensions between some players and staff members even in the hallways of the stadium. Like Jorge Sampaoli, furious at the entrance to the locker room, no one has mastered his nerves. And this even in boxes, between the two presidents Pablo Longoria and Jean-Pierre Rivière.
After 45 minutes of waiting, the Niçois wanted to resume the meeting, in agreement with the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes, and represented themselves on the lawn. Not the Marseillais categorical to end prematurely with this evening, and to lose the meeting on the green carpet (3-0) in order to preserve their physical integrity. “It goes beyond football. It is a public order problem. The debate is that everyone can go home quietly, ”said President Rivière at the microphone of Canal +.
Too bad – the word is weak – to have to retain these images, fifteen days after similar altercations at La Mosson, but how can we do otherwise? The show was certainly magnificent since the start of this derby. Both teams went on the attack without stopping. The guards Mandanda and Benitez multiplied the parades. OM were pushing to equalize after Kasper Dolberg’s subtle chest opener.
In the end, Galtier’s men have retained (for the moment) the three points, synonymous with second place, but only this generalized chaos will be remembered. The bitter feeling of déjà vu, but also the discovery of breathtaking scenes. Like these lines of CRS forced to surround the sidelines of two football teams of a field emptied of its players. And this absurd end of the match, whistled by Benoît Bastien with eleven players less on the lawn.
A new match is now starting Or rather several. The first will be refereed by the Professional Football League, which will obviously be seized by Olympique de Marseille. But another, more urgent, and more complex, will have to open between professional football bodies and public authorities.
