While Olympique de Marseille now knows its opponent for the third preliminary round of the Champions League, the Marseille club has announced bad news to its supporters.
Bad news. There will be no Marseillais in Greece. UEFA has decided to ban the travel of OM supporters to Athens, Wednesday August 9, for the third preliminary round of the Champions League, against Panathinaikos. The movement of fans in Greece has, in fact, been prohibited by the authority for reasons of public security. Marcelino’s band, defeated yesterday on their lawn against Bayer Leverkusen will therefore have to fend for themselves.
Reciprocity will apply for the return match. The same decision was taken for the Greek supporters. They will not have the right to go to Marseille during the return match, scheduled for the Vélodrome on August 15. Between the two clubs, a place is at stake for the Champions League play-offs.
This is not the first time that UEFA has imposed such restrictions on the Marseille club. In Ligue 1, as in European competition, decisions of this kind have multiplied for Marseille over the past seasons. Latest example, in the Champions League: a total closed session imposed on OM by UEFA for the match against Sporting Portugal, on October 4, 2022 at the Vélodrome.
