If the final stop of the Olympico after almost two hours of interruption was accepted by the leaders of the two clubs, Jean-Michel Aulas, the boss of OL, did not like at all the course of the catch decision: “What created the trouble is that the decision to resume the match was taken after a meeting of nearly an hour in the presence of the Prefect of the region. We had given instructions in the stadium for the match to resume. The reaction of the Marseillais was extremely vigorous. Without telling anyone, the referee thought the decision had to be changed. “Between the lines, the boss of OL blames the Marseillais for not having wanted to resume the game.
A version that Pablo Longoria disputes. Without clearly expressing what the will of his club was, the president of OM repeated several times that the responsibility lay with the match referee, Ruddy Buquet: “During this dark evening, we always said that we respect the arbitrator’s decision. For him, it was clear from the first moment: to leave the field. When a player is hit, a match cannot resume normally. “
Following these two remarks by the bosses of Lyon and Marseille, the prefect of the Auvergne – Rhône-Alpes region wished to give his point of view in a text published on social networks. A few lines which call into question the communication of the Professional Football League: “Following the incident, a crisis meeting is organized, in the presence of the referees, the prefect, the vice-prosecutor, the DDSP and the presidents of the two clubs. The referee decides to resume the match.
Almost an hour later, the LFP discards and publishes a press release saying that the decision to take over came from the prefect of the Rhône. FALSE. This decision was taken by the referee in the presence of authorities and club presidents. The referee then invites the authorities and club presidents to his locker room to say that he changes his mind and that he stops the match. “
In the middle of this imbroglio, Jean-Michel Aulas presented the apologies of Olympique Lyonnais to Dimitri Payet, while indicating: “I have just heard from this news, he is much less injured than imagined. He was shocked, there is no concussion. I hope it will get better and very soon. “Pablo Longoria showed more compassion with his playmaker:” When I entered the locker room, he had ice cubes on his head. Dimitri is psychologically affected. We must rediscover the pleasure of football and not relive this kind of evenings ”.
“We cannot generalize these acts”
The two leaders agree on the absolute need for French football to emerge from this crisis which is plaguing its stands: “This is the time to ask questions and to open a period of reflection,” explains Pablo Longoria. We have a strong championship, the level has risen. How can we get out of this dangerous dynamic? “Jean-Michel Aulas seems to him a bit disillusioned:” On the public highway, there are a lot of uncontrollable people. It is a bottle of water that will perhaps allow us to realize that we still have to make decisions. At the moment T, however, I do not see which ones because the stadium was hypersecure. “
Moreover, for the President of Lyon, this “isolated act” has nothing to do with the incidents which took place at the start of the season between Nice and Marseille: “In Nice as in Lens, there was an invasion of ground. Here, it was the act of an uncontrollable individual who was immediately challenged. We cannot generalize these acts. “
