French police have made arrests following an attack on Lyon’s team bus that saw manager Fabio Grosso injured by a bottle. The Ligue 1 side travelled south to face rivals Olympique Marseille at the Stade Vélodrome but the team bus was attacked by a group of home fans who threw projectiles at the vehicle.
In the pictures released by the French newspaper L’Equipe, the windows of the vehicle appear completely shattered following the attack, while videos have circulated on social media showing Grosso entering the tunnel of the Velodrome with his hands covering his face, bleeding.
According to initial reconstructions, Grosso was not hit by a stone, however, but by a full bottle that grazed his eye. The object allegedly caused a 3 cm cut above the left eye, and stitches were applied.
In Marseille in the meantime, a crisis unit has been set up to assess the incidents in the vicinity of the stadium and the choice was made to postpone the match.
One of Grosso’s assistants, Raffaele Longo, also suffered an injury. An emergency meeting between the Lyon players and president John Textor had also taken place around 20:00 yesterday evening. The latter was interviewed by Prime Video shortly after the decision to postpone the match and said: ‘We are angry, we would have liked to play.
According to information released by L’Equipe, it was home fans, Marseille supporters, who attacked the OL coach. A witness stated: ‘I have never seen anything like this’. The mayor of Marseille spoke out in condemnation: “An unacceptable attack, we extend support for OL, the coach and assistant. Sport is not this, football is not this”
A statement from Marseille contemned the actions of the handful of supporters, saying:
“Olympique de Marseille deplores the unacceptable incidents that took place this evening in the vicinity of the Vélodrome stadium, against the team’s coach and the Olympique Lyonnais fans’ bus.
The club wishes Lyon coach Fabio Grosso a speedy recovery and strongly condemns this violent behaviour that has no place in the world of football and society.
Due to a handful of irresponsible people, the party planned for tonight was ruined and deprived 65,000 fans of the possibility of attending a football match.
The club abides by the decision taken by the Football League and is at its disposal to ensure that the match scheduled for Sunday 29 October takes place as soon as possible at the Velodrome.”
Lyon released a statement of their own, saying:
“Lyon strongly condemns the unacceptable racist behaviour by some people in the car park on Sunday. The club has requested videos to identify the perpetrators of any act contrary to the law, but also contrary to its values, and reiterates its will to keep them away from the stands.”
FIFA president Gianni Infantino shared his thoughts on social media:
‘There is absolutely no room for violence in football. Such events, such as those that occurred in Marseille before the Ligue 1 match between Olympique de Marseille and Olympique Lyonnais, have no place in our sport or our society and I call on the competent authorities to ensure that appropriate measures are taken.”
The French police have arrested nine people and are searching for other suspects. Five police officers were also injured.
