The rescheduling of Olympico in Marseille could turn into a disaster for Lyon.
Faced with a legal impasse, the Professional Football League, via its Disciplinary Commission, was unable to do anything to oppose the scandalous incidents which caused the shock of the 10e Ligue 1 day between OM and OL on October 29. Relocating the match rescheduled for December 6 and/or putting it behind closed doors would necessarily penalize the Marseille club. To replay it as if nothing had happened, at the Vélodrome and with the public, is to ignore the trauma of Les Gones.
This Friday again, Vincent Ponsot, the football director at Lyon, proclaims his indignation: “ The disciplinary committee made a political decision by declaring itself incompetent on the pretext that these incidents took place outside the stadium. But for a football player, a coach, to be attacked outside the stadium, this has never happened in France. We cannot fail to mark the occasion, and the commission has all the tools to take advantage of it. The old article 129 of the general regulations states that all clubs are responsible for the behavior of their supporters. It was for clubs to commit to the safety and behavior of supporters, but this article does not talk about territoriality. 400 meters from the stadium, we know that they are OM supporters, and an ambush, with pétanque balls. The commission made the political choice not to put a finger in it, but I can’t understand it for a coach who almost lost his eye. »
A planned boycott
Having thus drawn up the observation, the Rhone leader promises to “ don’t stop there “. “ We owe it to our players and staff. What we suffered two years ago, the point withdrawn, the debate on the lost match, we do not want OM to suffer. But we want to be able to play football without being afraid or risking anything. We don’t want a sporting sanction, because the Marseille players have nothing to do with it. We want to play on neutral ground. » A position that Vincent Ponsot could judge definitive soon, even if it means that OL simply boycotts this meeting. “ We’re not there yet. We will see at the end of the appeals and we will discuss it with the players and the staff if we do not obtain something different », he breathes.
If the Lyonnais opted for such a refusal to play, then they would expose themselves to a forfeit in the eyes of the League, therefore to the loss of the match on the green carpet (0-3). This scenario, given the sporting difficulties in Rhone this season, OL cannot frankly afford it. After 10 matches played, Lacazette and others only have four points on the clock. No club has maintained such a record in the past at this stage of the championship. Giving up this Olympico would amount to further obscuring the future of Les Gones.
