A few minutes from the kick -off of the reprogrammed clasico, Pablo Longoria spoke at the microphone of Ligue 1+ to return to 24 hours which will have marked the recent history of OM. Sunday, the torrential rain and the thunderstorms announced in Marseille have turned all the plans upside down. The prefecture of Bouches-du-Rhône canceled the meeting initially scheduled at 8:45 p.m., fearing sudden floods and too risky trips for the 65,000 spectators expected. The images of a velodrome swept by wind and water confirmed, in the evening, the merits of this decision. For the Marseille president, these extreme conditions imposed a total reorganization, including in terms of logistics, the club and the security services.
“”The prefect's decision for security passes in front of everything, in front of sport, it must always be respected. We couldn't play with that. I can understand, but the situation does not depend on the club, it depends on the weather conditions. But football is playing a match, right? There is a regulation, it must be applied. We try to avoid playing three games in seven days as much as possible, which would have been the case for us in December on the date offered by Paris. The application of the regulation is clear, and that seems to us the fairest decision“He said. But if the weather forced the authorities, it was above all the reprogramming of the match that rekindled the tensions. As soon as the postponement was announced on Sunday afternoon, an showdown was behind the scenes between OM, LFP and PSG to set the new date. Paris wanted to avoid the Monday evening niche so as not to miss the Ballon d'Or ceremony; Marseille, for its part, strictly held the regulations of competitions which provides for a postponement 24 hours later in the same enclosure. Longoria, in accordance with its services, defended this line and never compared the importance of enforcing the text.
Longoria's cash response
This inflexibility sparked a real controversy around the Ballon d'Or, which has become a parallel issue. “”The Ballon d'Or? I can understand, it's unfortunate. I understand the frustration it can create, but we only apply the regulations», Hammed the president of OM. With nine Parisians appointed for various awards, including Ousmane Dembélé expected for the Supreme Trophy, PSG hoped to shift the match in the afternoon or even on a later date. But OM, already engaged on several fronts with a trip to Strasbourg and a greening in Rome, refused any arrangement which would penalize its calendar and its supporters. “”A postponement in December? The situation to avoid is not to play three games in seven days, that would have been the case if we had played in December or if we had played on Tuesday. It was the fairest decision“Concluded Longoria. This Battle of Agenda led to the final decision of the LFP: Monday evening, 8 p.m., as stipulated in article 548.
At a time when the kick -off is finally approaching, Pablo Longoria can enjoy a form of institutional victory. His club held out in the face of pressures, assumed his position and managed to maintain the organization of the shock in more serene conditions. But he also knows that the context of the last 24 hours has placed OM at the center of a media storm where weather, calendar, commercial interests and symbols of French football mix. On the ground as behind the scenes, this clasico will therefore have been a life -size test of the capacity of the Marseille club to be respected.
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