Frank McCourt comes out of silence. The American owner of Marseille said in a statement on Thursday that he “firmly” supported club president Pablo Longoria, whose departure groups of supporters are demanding, and judged that a “profound change” was “necessary” for enable the development of the club.
According to him, Monday’s meeting between OM management and representatives of supporter groups “should have been an opportunity to come together to defend the interests of the club. Instead, it devolved into an alarming display of aggression. Faced with this situation, I firmly support Pablo Longoria,” he wrote. “Supporting the Management Board, staff and players of OM, who are the guarantors of the continued success of our club, is and will remain my top priority. This support involves guaranteeing their security and a healthy atmosphere conducive to victory.”
Frank McCourt also took care to point out that the current episode was unfortunately nothing new or new for a club now accustomed to living in a sort of crisis and permanent threat linked to its ultras and other supporters. “The situation that occurred on Monday and which led us to the resignation of Marcelino and his staff is unacceptable and, unfortunately, it is not the only example of behavior that goes against the mission of our club. Our goal is to win on the ground, to bring together and inspire the people of Marseille. “Monday’s incident is just one of many that undermines the foundations and functioning of the club, and makes it much more difficult to achieve our goals.”
And the American owner concluded his press release on this note of intent. “Our management of OM has taught us that profound change is necessary to give the club a real chance of developing unimpeded in the long term. This change requires strong collective support, inside and outside OM,” he added while the supporters group leaders asked yesterday to meet him as soon as possible.