Pablo Longoria MAOCtou / PANORAMIC
The president of Olympique de Marseille spoke in La Provence and is taking action against the supporters.
His speech was expected. It is now recorded. For more than two hours on Wednesday afternoon, OM president Pablo Longoria returned to the deep crisis that has shaken his club since the stormy meeting with certain fan representatives Monday evening. So much so that Marcelino resigned from his position as coach, while OM faces Ajax Amsterdam on Thursday in the Europa League.
« My goal was to send a message so that we go together in the same direction, to be positive, advances Pablo Longoria in Provence. I had prepared myself for the criticism but remained optimistic about the future. I was able to speak for two minutes, then I was cut off and things got out of hand very quickly… We were told: ‘All four of us resign, otherwise it’s war’.» Very marked, Pablo Longoria was not in Amsterdam with the Marseille contingent for the debut in the Europa League scheduled for Thursday evening. The latter, with football director Javier Ribalta, general director Pedro Iriondo and financial director Stéphane Tessier chose to “stand back» pour «to reflect on» to their future within OM.
Longoria was “not afraid” but was “shocked”
«The limits have been exceeded, admits the Spanish leader. In 2023, a manager of any club cannot suffer these threats. I don’t accept them. I wasn’t scared, but I was shocked, I consider it not normal. I did not have the right to speak. I was not the club president in this meeting. How to communicate when someone wants to prove their superiority to you?»
“It’s not normal for a football manager to be threatened. Let him be criticized, yes, we are paid for that. But threatened »
Pablo Longoria
« Monday, I told myself that she (the limit) was still much further than I thoughtsays the Spanish leader, who says no more about his future at the head of the institution. It started with insinuations and progressed to threats. I can’t accept this, I can’t hear: “In Marseille it’s like that”. This is why we said Tuesday : “In current conditions, it is impossible to work.” You understand me now, right? It is not normal for a football manager to be threatened. Let him be criticized, yes, we are paid for that. But threatened….»
In the short extract revealed by our colleagues this Wednesday evening – the entire interview will be broadcast Thursday in Provence – Pablo Longoria evokes a deleterious climate behind the scenes on the Canebière which already dates from last season. “Insinuations that I had stolen money with the transfers reached the McCourt grouphe adds. To protect myself, I had to ask the McCourt group to audit all our operations by an independent firm, to demonstrate that we were transparent. I gave away all my bank accounts, my phones, my emails, everything… It turned out we were clean! I gave it my all, even private conversations with my mother. Everything I said outside my circle of trust came out in the press. There were insinuations about my family. All of these moves are based on causing fear. “If you do that, we will slander you, we will release a file on you”: Do you know how many times I’ve experienced this in recent months? A lot. This is also why I decided to open an audit because I wanted to give my owner confidence, to show him that there was nothing. »
