Olympique Lyonnais strongly condemned “the unacceptable racist behavior of individuals in the parking lot” of Lyon supporters on Sunday before the canceled OM-OL match in Marseille, in a press release published Monday by the club. “The club requested the videos to identify the perpetrators of any act contrary to the law, but also contrary to its values”, affirms the club, recalling OL’s desire “to keep them away from the stands”.
OL strongly condemns the unacceptable racist behavior of individuals in the yard on Sunday. The club requested the videos to identify the perpetrators of any act contrary to the law, but also contrary to its values, and reiterates its desire to keep them away from the stands.
— Olympique Lyonnais (@OL) October 30, 2023
Possible sanctions to come
In its Monday morning edition, the sports daily L’Equipe mentions racist chants and gestures from Lyon fans present in the Vélodrome visitor park, who could be subject to sanctions by the League.
These acts are added to the list of incidents which punctuated the evening on Sunday. Before the match counting for the 10th day of Ligue 1, the OL bus, and those of Lyon supporters, were the target of projectiles, which notably injured Italian coach Fabio Grosso. On Monday, the club said the team returned during the night, after being “well escorted” from the stadium. A new training session should be held on Tuesday, after a day of rest.
“A hooligan attack”
While the ecologist mayor of Lyon Grégory Doucet denounced on X, formerly Twitter, “unacceptable” violence towards the Italian coach and the supporters, Bruno Bernard, president of the Lyon Metropolis was more virulent.
“It’s not an incident! It’s an attack by Marseille hooligans who are sullying football and the city of Marseille. It’s totally unacceptable! They must be banned from football and brought to justice.”, he said. he writes on the social network.