This Friday, as a preamble to the match between Olympique Lyonnais, still bottom of Ligue 1, against Rennes, Fabio Grosso returned to the decision of the National League to play the Olympique de Marseille – Olympique Lyonnais match on December 6 at Velodrome Stadium.
The match could not be played on October 29 after the Lyon coach was injured in the left eye and forehead, hit in the face after projectiles broke a window of the OL bus. This Thursday, the LFP decided that this match would be played in Marseille where the incidents took place.
“I was almost sure that we shouldn’t go back to them,” regrets Fabio Grosso. I saw that nothing happened, we are doing the same as before. I didn’t think it was possible but it happened. I find that unacceptable. » During the press briefing preceding the match against the Bretons, Grosso insisted. “We want to stay focused on our match because we don’t want to look for excuses,” continues the Italian. We will wait for the final decision. What happened is very serious, it is not normal and we must apply better things than what has been applied until now. »
“I will keep a memory outside and inside too”
“We have to make strong decisions otherwise unacceptable things will happen again,” he continues. We must not expect anything more serious than what happened to me. They played the following match at home without the opposing supporters. I have nothing against Marseille, the leaders. Something happened near the stadium. I hope for a strong decision regarding what happened. It’s difficult to take for those like me who have experienced this. »
Despite this decision, Olympique Lyonnais does not plan to give up playing the match. “I didn’t think about it because I didn’t think we would go back when something happened 500 m from the stadium and with people going to the stadium,” Grosso continues. We didn’t feel protected and we don’t feel protected in relation to the match that is going to come. » He also returned to his state of health. “I’m better but I’m going to keep a memory on the outside and inside too. This experience touched me a lot. We came for a match. There it was more than that, it was life. You shouldn’t joke with people’s lives. »
For his part, Lyon football director Vincent Ponsot confirmed on Friday the Rhone club’s intention to appeal the LFP’s decision to play the match at the Vélodrome with the public and asked again to play on neutral ground. “We want to be able to play football without being afraid or risking anything. We don’t want a sporting sanction because the Marseille players have nothing to do with it. We want to play on neutral ground. We’re not going to stop there. We owe it to the players and the management. »
“We cannot understand, we have a coach who almost lost an eye,” reacted Vincent Ponsot, who called on the commission to “mark the occasion” in the face of this attack on a coach, unprecedented in France. “The old article 129 of the general regulations indicates that all clubs are responsible for the behavior of their supporters,” recalled Ponsot, specifying that this article “did not speak of territoriality”.
Referring to an “ambush”, he recalls that the two men brought into immediate appearance are OM supporters, “two Fanatics”. According to him, the “Support for the Arrested” banner, deployed during the OM match against Lille, “clearly demonstrates the link between the supporters and the perpetrators of violence. Likewise, the League generally suggests putting a delegate on the bus. It’s good that she feels involved in the journey to the stadium,” explained Vincent Ponsot.
A little earlier in the day, Sports Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra also expressed her opinion on the postponement of the match in Marseille. “It’s the least bad option. For me, the damage is done. When there is a ban on the movement of supporters, as will be the case on December 6 (for Lyon supporters who had also been the target of attacks in Marseille), it is the defeat of division. The sanction that is being imagined today is probably the least bad of the remaining options. »
