Whose fault is it ? Serious incidents in Marseille led to the postponement of the OM-OL meeting scheduled for Sunday evening in Ligue 1. This Monday morning, Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, the Minister of Sports, affirmed that the clubs must assume their responsibility for the behavior of their supporters. Questioned on France 2, the minister estimated that “if it is established that there are supporters involved” in violence, “the clubs cannot lose interest in this”
Same story with Gérald Darmanin. Brushing aside a possible underestimation of the risk or a fault of the police, the Minister of the Interior spoke of a “responsibility of individuals and a responsibility of clubs.” Nine arrests were made among the people who stoned the Olympique Lyonnais players’ bus when it arrived at the stadium, but also buses of Lyon supporters. The Italian coach of Les Gones, Fabio Grosso, suffered a serious head injury. His deputy too.
However, as the events took place outside the stadium, OM’s responsibility is difficult to establish. As reported by L’Equipe, the disciplinary committee of the Professional Football League (LFP) cannot be contacted, it is the competitions committee which will decide on the fate of the match. A crisis unit met at the Vélodrome stadium, with the prefect of Bouches-du-Rhône, representatives of the police, the referee François Letexier, the delegates of the meeting and representatives of the two clubs.
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Taking into account the state of health of Fabio Grosso and the seriousness of the incidents, the decision to postpone the meeting was taken. It remains to be seen when – and if – it will be able to be played again. And under what conditions. This could be the only purely sporting consequence. For the rest, it is up to the authorities to take sanctions against individuals.
On the other hand, there could be consequences for the travel of supporters. “Since the start of the season, I have banned three fan trips, including twice for Marseille supporters unfortunately,” Gérald Darmanin told BFM TV-RMC. I understood that it was necessary to more systematically prohibit the arrival of supporters.
Olympique Lyonnais announced in the evening its intention to file a complaint. The club “regrets that this type of situation occurs every year in Marseille and invites the authorities to take stock of the seriousness and repetition of this type of incident before an even more serious tragedy occurs.”