“Had broken glass on his face”
Before the duel between the rival clubs between Olympique Marseille and Olympique Lyon, there was another huge scandal. Coach Fabio Grosso was hit in the head and injured in an attack with stones on the Lyon team bus. Photos and videos showed the former Italian world champion walking through the catacombs bleeding profusely on Sunday evening. Lyon’s assistant coach Raffaele Longo is also said to have been injured. The Ligue 1 game scheduled for 8:45 p.m. was ultimately canceled.
Several security windows were “destroyed by heavy projectiles of an unknown nature,” Lyon said in the evening. Coach Fabio Grosso and his assistant Raffaele Longo were hit directly in this attack and were seriously injured in the face. “The players and staff present on the bus were also deeply affected by the violence of this attack, which Olympique Lyonnais condemns in the strongest possible terms,” it said. Videos on the club’s social media channels later showed the coach with a head bandage.
When the bus reached the Stade Vélodrome, a huge hole could be seen on the right side. Coach Grosso, who once scored the decisive goal to make it 1-0 in extra time in the 2006 World Cup semi-final against Germany (2-0), was immediately treated by doctors and bandaged on his head. The Italian is also said to have complained of dizziness.
“He couldn’t hold a conversation, he had broken glass on his face,” reported OL club boss John Textor: “I’m very angry, our players, our coach were preparing for tonight and the fans wanted to see the game.” Lyon didn’t When asked to cancel the game, Textor said: “We were ready to play. The decision wasn’t ours because it happened outside the stadium. This is not how football should be played. We support the referee’s decision.”
Pablo Longoria, the president of Marseille, said: “What happened to Fabio Grosso, the coach of Olympique Lyon, must be prevented, it is completely unacceptable. This is something that can no longer happen in football.”
But that’s not all: three Lyon fan buses were apparently also attacked with stones. There are said to have been minor injuries. According to information from “L’Èquipe”, the buses can no longer be used for the return journey to Lyon. Seven people were arrested.
There are always riots and bad scenes at games between the two clubs. In November 2021, the game in Lyon was canceled after ex-national player Dimitri Payet, who was then playing for Marseille, was hit in the head by a full water bottle. Payet wanted to take a corner in the 4th minute when the bottle hit him behind the left ear. At that time, Lyon received a point deduction and the rescheduled game was played behind closed doors.
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