The ludicrous crisis that Olympique de Marseille has been going through for the past 48 hours has its origins in a meeting that went very wrong on Monday.
Olympique de Marseille had a fairly ordinary start to the season, but there was no danger at all. Just two weeks ago, during the international break, it would have been difficult to imagine the events that happened during the last two completely crazy days. Even the most brilliant screenwriter wouldn’t have risked it. And yet, on the eve of a gala match against Ajax Amsterdam in the Europa League, OM have just formalized the departure of their coach Marcelino, replaced on the bench by Jacques Abardonado. The resignation of the Spanish technician follows pressure placed on Pablo Longoria. How did we get to this point?
In its columns, the newspaper L’Équipe returned in detail to what appears to be the trigger for this violent crisis: a meeting between the staff of Olympique de Marseille and groups of supporters. This long-planned meeting was held at the Commanderie. And it went very wrong. Beyond the current sporting situation, after another disappointing match against Toulouse the day before (0-0), the supporters’ associations, via their spokesperson Rachid Zeroual, at the head of the Winners, criticized several specific points in the policy led by President Pablo Longoria.
OM: what Zeroual criticized Longoria
Still according to the regional daily, the president of OM was thus accused of being responsible for the instability of recent years in the club’s organizational chart, from coaches to players, including employees. But the supporters associations would not have stopped there. The departure of Dimitri Payet – transferred to Brazil this summer – would have gone very badly, as would the elimination during the preliminary round of the Champions League against Panathinaikos (2-1, 3-5 tab). Finally, Rachid Zeroual would have suggested that the president of OM had reasoning based on “cronyism” in his strategic choices, including at the training center, while evoking other elements, ranging from the women’s section to the teams of young people, passing through the commercial activities of the Spanish leader.
Very tense, this meeting would have ended in chaos, the supporters demanding the departures of Pablo Longoria and his partners in the high authorities of the club, the football director Javier Ribalta, the general management Pedro Iriondo and the administrative and financial director Stéphane Tessier.
The sequence of events offers several reading grids. Marcelino’s resignation is directly linked to the fate of his friend Pablo Longoria, the now ex-OM coach having been very shocked by the death threats received by his president. By leaving the idea of a departure with a withdrawal, the latter also highlights the role of Zeroual in front of the rest of the OM community and the media. A way to isolate these groups of supporters? Or a professional sacrifice to preserve one’s safety and shine the spotlight on certain methods? The next few days will tell.
