OM-OL incidents: "Between disgust and shame", laments FFF president Philippe Diallo

Alexandre Dalifard 20:00 p.m., November 04, 2023

Has football really changed? Since the health crisis, the return of Ligue 1 to the various stadiums of France has not been without incident. On 29 October, the match between OM and OL was cancelled shortly before kick-off. The reason? Les Gones' bus was stoned by Marseille supporters, despite the presence of 500 police officers. The images of coach Fabio Grosso, bleeding, injured by shards of glass, went around the world. Unfortunately, this is not the only incident that occurred in the 2023/2024 season, which only started in mid-August. Last September, homophobic chants were heard in the Auteuil stand at the Parc des Princes during the Clasico between PSG and OM.

But how can such acts happen today in sports competitions? The president of the French Football Federation (FFF), Philippe Diallo, guest on the show Le studio des légendes, reacted to the microphone of Jacques Vendroux. The strong man of French football looks back on these incidents that have tainted Ligue 1.

"The only answer is a criminal response"

"When you see that, you're both disgusted and a little ashamed." These are the first words with which Philippe Diallo reacts to the incidents that occurred at the Vélodrome. For him, the people who stoned the various buses during the Olympico between Marseille and Lyon are thugs. "The only answer is a criminal response. That's why football, justice and the police, we absolutely have to join forces to have the best possible collaboration to identify these thugs and condemn them," insists the FFF president.

>> ALSO READ – Football: SOS Racism files a complaint after "hateful and racist" comments against FC Metz

For his part, Gérald Darmanin reacted to these events by pointing the finger at the responsibility of the clubs. According to the Minister of the Interior, there was no failure on the part of the police in the handling of these incidents. "These events took place outside the stadium and it is not up to football to solve security problems on public roads," Philippe Diallo initially replied to Jacques Vendroux. "But nevertheless, these incidents took place during a football match and so, from that point of view, it means that we have to take some responsibility for these events. But we can't do it alone," admits the FFF president.

Complex identification

For him, both the police and the judiciary must, together with the Federation, form an alliance to eradicate these problems. "Other countries have done it," Diallo said. The latter refers to England, which experienced extremely serious problems in the 80s. For five years, English clubs had been banned from the European Cup. The league has put in place a number of measures, particularly in terms of sanctions, stadium bans, sometimes for life, for a large number of supporters. "I think that in France, we must go on this reinforced collaboration to try that these events do not happen again," said the president of French football.

>> ALSO READ – OM-OL violence: should fan travel be banned more systematically?

Asked by Jacques Vendroux about the possibility of excluding clubs from football competitions, Philippe Diallo remains reserved. "I am, as a matter of principle, against all collective sanctions. I think we need to be able to identify. That's why it's complex, because not only do you have to identify the troublemakers and then you have to prove their intervention," he told Europe 1 radio. Sometimes the video images are not enough because there is a blur, a shadow, a hood or a scarf that makes it difficult to identify. "But I would say that it is really with regard to these individuals and with regard to individual sanctions that we really need to emphasize," Diallo said.