Almost two years after his death, Bernard Tapie still leads the debates in Marseille.
Bernard Tapie died on October 3, 2021, at the age of 78. A businessman and politician, the person concerned also and above all remains for many an icon of OM, a club that he led to the supreme coronation in the Champions League in 1993, as president. Resting today in the Marseille city, “the boss”, as Olympians supporters like to call him, still fuels the debate in his adopted city.
His son Laurent, since the 30e anniversary of OM’s continental coronation, on May 26, is working to raise the funds to erect a statue in the forecourt of the Vélodrome stadium bearing the likeness of his late father. “ I raised two thirds of the money. I’m happy with it, but a third is missinghe whispers on the RMC airwaves. I take this opportunity to appeal to everyone who loved my father, and even to those who didn’t love him but think he deserves something to stay after him. »
“Serious things”
1998 world champion and former OM player in his career, Christophe Dugarry is not enthusiastic about this project. “ Leaders have the right to believe that to put a statue in front of a stadium, the image of the character, what the character has done, must be irreproachable, judges the former striker, who does not forget the dark side of Bernard Tapie, and in particular this OM-VA affair which did so much harm to the Marseille club. They have the right to set their own limits and to consider that despite all the good things that Bernard Tapie did for OM, there are things which for them were serious, which show that everything was not Perfect. They have the right to make the decisions they want. Is it shocking not to see a statue of Bernard Tapie in front of the Vélodrome? If I didn’t see any, it wouldn’t shock me. »
