Marseille, France in shock due to accidents. The minister accuses the club

After the violence, the controversy. And it couldn’t be otherwise, in a country that is preparing to organize the most important sporting event in the world. That is, the Olympics, even if in Paris. But yesterday’s events in Marseille, with the attack on the Lyon bus and the wounding of Fabio Grosso, who had his eye stitched with fifteen stitches, cannot leave anyone indifferent. So today it is up to the authorities to provide explanations and above all to take action. Meanwhile, Gianni Infantino, president of FIFA, posted an eloquent message: “There is absolutely no room for violence in football. Such events have no place in our sport nor in our society and I appeal to the relevant authorities to ensure that appropriate measures are taken.”

shock

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It is not even the first time that France finds itself at the center of the cyclone of stadium violence. The alarm had already been raised for the 2022 Champions League final, which got out of control by the authorities, with the poor management of the public turnout and then with the raids of young criminals who took it out on the English fans, risking provoking panic movements and victims, beyond the thefts also against families. This time, the stadium madness went further, with a full-scale ambush on the Lyon delegation: stones were thrown, the bus windows were shattered, the bottle was thrown at Grosso’s face. The Italian arrived bloodied and in a state of shock at the Velodrome, where he underwent first aid, with 15 stitches in his eyelid. Then the checks at the hospital, before returning to the stadium, from where Lyon left in the evening, reaching the airport on a school bus.

reactions

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Already last night the Minister of Sport, Amelie Oudea-Castera, had expressed indignation at the incident. The Interior Minister, Gerald Darmanin, promised sentences, administrative and sporting sanctions this morning, also pointing the finger at Marseille who “must manage their fans”. Message to president Longoria who yesterday underlined how the events had occurred outside the stadium, therefore outside the direct competence of the club. The two ministries had in each case endorsed the trip for the Lyon fans, despite it being a traditionally risky match. And in fact at least three coaches of visiting fans were attacked with flares, stones and metal bowls. The match has obviously been canceled and it will be up to the League Competitions Commission to decide what to do, probably requiring it to be played behind closed doors.

stain

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In any case, for France this is a new blemish in the perspective of the Olympics. All this just when the attack alert raises fears of the worst for the opening ceremony of the Games which for the first time, on July 26th, will take place outside a stadium. The parade of 91 boats, with 10 thousand athletes and half a million fans on the banks of the Seine raises doubts from a safety point of view. The government plans to deploy around 50 thousand gendarmes and policemen, and does not even exclude the use of soldiers to compensate for the gaps in terms of steward recruitment: at least a third of the 22 thousand needed are missing. For now, no alternative plan has been envisaged, but according to government sources, a less pompous inauguration ceremony cannot be ruled out. The events in Marseille only fuel doubts about Paris’ ability to manage an event of this size.