Lyon (AFP)

After the incidents between players and ultra supporters, who followed the Lyon-Leipzig match (2-2) on Tuesday and the qualification for the knockout stages of the Champions League, OL now dreads receiving Rennes on Sunday (17:00) in a tense atmosphere, not conducive to performance ...

Defender Marcelo remains a privileged target of a minority fringe of the public but the fingers of honor addressed to a tribune did not help to ease tensions.

- What future for Marcelo?

The tensions also affect the workforce after Marcelo's partner lambasted on Twitter the attitude of goalkeeper Anthony Lopes, close to the group of supporters of Bad Gones, at the time of the incidents.

And inevitably arises the question of the future of Marcelo who still owes eighteen months of contract to the club and who does not intend to abandon them.

Can he still play for OL, however? In the negative case, it would still be necessary to find him a replacement of at least equal value without selling off the possible transfer of the Brazilian to a club which would like to take advantage of the situation.

"If it becomes difficult for Marcelo or others to enter the OL Park because they are afraid of doing wrong, how can we get future victories? (...) We cannot afford to leave someone on the on the side of the road because if I lose Joachim Andersen or Jason Denayer, it will get complicated. I already have side problems, it's not to invent them elsewhere, "railed Garcia at a press conference on Friday.

"It is inconceivable to put Marcelo aside for Sunday's game," he warned.

But Garcia is right to worry.

- Aulas' "little mistake" -

On April 2, Rennes came to qualify (3-2) at Décines-Charpieu for the final of the Coupe de France in an atmosphere made difficult by the distrust of these same ultra supporters towards the previous coach, Bruno Genesio.

A few days later, Genesio had to give up extending his contract while Jean-Michel Aulas defended the idea of ​​continuing with him to associate him with Juninho.

Aulas also intervened on this subject in an interview granted Thursday to Eurosport admitting "bite your fingers for not having kept Genesio", now a coach in China, acknowledging "a small error to have listened to the groups of supporters and not having rendered service to the institution ".

He also called on them to "challenge themselves".

Since April 2, the sports directions have been rather unhappy despite a transfer window during which OL spent 88 million euros.

If the return of Juninho as sports director, non-existent in this crisis, delighted the entire Lyon public, choosing his compatriot Sylvinho as coach, a novice, like him, at his post, was disastrous.

His replacement on October 14 by Rudi Garcia, also hated by ultras, has maintained the divide between this fringe of supporters, the club and the players like Captain Memphis Depay, whose future may also be called into question in May.

Symbol of the qualification, Tuesday, it is him who went to tear off the calico degrading the image of Marcelo, of the hands of an individual before denouncing this deleterious atmosphere which could push him to go to look elsewhere.

"What do we lose as energy and as time having to talk about this. I especially have a match to win against Rennes and I have no time and energy to lose with that", said thus grumbled Garcia Friday in front of the press.

And it is in this context that OL is preparing, with the hope of seeing a stadium in unison, without the south turn suspended after the use of smoke bombs, the tribute to Bernard Lacombe (67 years old), former goalscorer, coach and manager of the club, who retires at the end of the year.

© 2019 AFP