Sunday’s match between Marseille and Lyon was canceled due to an attack by Marseille fans on the visiting bus. As a result of the fans’ attack, the Lyon players’ transport was damaged and their coach was seriously injured.
The incident occurred on the evening of October 29. Marseille fans, who were waiting for the Lyon bus at the Vélodrome stadium, attacked him with stones and flares. They started throwing cobblestones at the car and broke the windows of the bus. The fragments hit the visiting coach Fabio Grosso, as a result of which the coach’s face was damaged.
Footage circulated on social media showing Grosso receiving medical attention. He received a serious cut, causing his head to fill with blood. Another casualty in the attack was Fabio’s assistant, Raffaele Longo. Their wounds were treated at the Velodrome. It is currently unknown whether any of the players were injured as a result of the attack.
Shortly after the incident, a crisis meeting took place, following which the leadership of the French league decided to cancel the match. As a result, the game, which was supposed to take place at 22:45 Moscow time, was postponed indefinitely. It is expected that the date and time of the new match will be announced later.
Francois Letexier, the main referee of the meeting, spoke about what happened. He noted that after the incident, Lyon did not want the game to take place. The cancellation of the match will also be followed by the submission of reports to the “competent authorities,” the referee added.
Some time after the attack, the Marseille press service issued an official statement. The club apologized for the incident and said its management regretted the “unacceptable incidents” that occurred at the Velodrome. “The club wishes a speedy recovery to Lyon coach Fabio Grosso and strongly condemns aggressive behavior that has no place in the football world and society.”reads the appeal.
The press service also described the fans who attacked the bus as “a handful of people who have lost their minds” who ruined the celebration planned for Sunday evening. Marseille expressed the hope that the rescheduled meeting will take place as soon as possible and in the “best conditions” at the Stade Vélodrome.
By the way, this is not the first such incident involving Marseille fans. A similar thing already happened in 2019: then local fans also attacked the Lyon bus.