The bus that transported Lyon to the Velodrome stadium in Marseille to play the duel that closed the tenth day of the French league was stoned by radical fans of the Olympique de Marseillewhich injured the visiting coach, the Italian, in the head Fabio Grossowhich caused the suspension of the match.
The violence of the attackrevealed by the images, sparked a wave of indignation and condemnations in French football, which saw another incident with the most violent fans.
The Minister of Sports, Amélie Oudéa-Castera, considered the attack “inadmissible” which, she said on the social network
Seven of them have already been arrested.added the minister, who considered the decision to suspend the match to be well founded.
The bus was hit several times by stones and other objects thrown by radical fans when the vehicle was taking Lyon to the stadium. The windows flew into the air and the glass injured several of its occupants, also affected by the impacts of objects.
According to Lyon’s owner, the American billionaire John Textor, present in Marseille, The coach was hit by a beer bottlewhich caused a wound from which he bled profusely.
“I couldn’t even have a conversation, I had pieces of glass in my face,” Textor told Amazon television, which broadcasts the French league. At the moment the extent of the injuries suffered by the transalpine technician is unknown.
He was not the only one affected. His deputy, Raffaele Longo, was also hit in the face, although with less serious consequences.
The bus managed to reach the Velodrome, but the tension was already high. A crisis meeting between representatives of both clubs and the referee, François Letexier, analyzed the situation and decided that the match could not be played under those circumstances.
“We wanted to play, but the situation was very emotional, with the coach bleeding from the head. I wasn’t very lucid“said Textor, who however assured that it was not Lyon who requested the suspension of the match.
The French League indicated, however, that the suspension was decided after Lyon requested it and after receiving the agreement from Marseille.
“It is now up to the Competitions Commission to rule on the fate of this match,” the League said in a statement.
Lyon indicated that it will file a complaint for the events, while accusing Marseille of allowing this type of situation to be repeated every time its team visits the city.
“We invite the authorities to analyze the repetition of this type of incident before it causes an even more serious drama,” Lyon said in a statement.
Also the president of Olympique de Marseille, the Spanish Pablo Longoria, condemned the “inadmissible” acts that he attributed to “unconscious people” who “have spoiled the party in a stadium full of 65,000 spectators.”
“These types of acts cannot occur in football,” said Longoria, who a few months ago was on the verge of leaving his position after a tense meeting with representatives of the club’s radical fan associations.
The rivalry between both teams is historic and tonight’s duel was going to take place in very particular conditions, with both teams in a delicate sporting situation.
Lyon, a historical figure in French football, is bottom of the table with only three points in nine games and without a victory, while Marseille occupies ninth position, far from the European ambitions shown at the beginning of the season.
The team bus was not the only one attacked by radical Marseille fans, who also threw objects at another bus carrying some of the 600 Lyon fans who were authorized to travel to the Velodrome.
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