Marseille (AFP)

Enough business like that: Olympique de Marseille is ready "to make a move" for the recipe for its 16th final in the Coupe de France against Granville (N2) Friday (9:05 pm), after the controversy wiped out in the previous round against Trélissac.

"We are ready to make a gesture, we are thinking about which", explains OM, since taken by two other cases: the exit of his trainer, André Villas-Boas, on the transfer window, and the death threats against his president, Jacques-Henri Eyraud, on social networks.

The club could for example take the share it costs for the trip and leave part of its revenue in Granville.

At the beginning of January, the giant of Marseille had little taste of the President of Trélissac's outing and his long media journey to tell the story of the recipe.

Marseille had even split a press release to justify its choice not to return its share of the match revenue to its opponent. The Olympian club had thus recalled that with 400,000 euros to be split in two, Trélissac was already doing a very good business by hosting Limoges the most popular of French clubs with Paris SG.

The press release concluded with the price that the trip had cost, 65,000 euros, a mocked remark on social networks.

"The era of RLD's sumptuous spending", Robert-Louis Dreyfus, the former owner who died in 2009, "is over", OM said, recalling a period "when money was thrown by And this turnaround does not date from the arrival of Frank McCourt ", the American owner, and JHE.

- The Caen stadium will be full -

"It's a business," and "a penny is a penny," insists the club, where McCourt monitors accounts "every three days."

When Granville had hosted OM in the quarterfinal of the Coupe de France in 2016, "they had left us a large part of the recipe," said US Granville president Dominique Gortari to AFP.

He "does not remember" the amount. But to get an idea, the approximately 400,000 euros in revenue from the Trélissac-OM match, before deduction of the organizational costs (25% in Caen according to Mr. Gortari), corresponded to a stadium of 13,000 seats.

In Caen, the Norman president was certain that the 20,000 or so places (including several hundred reserved by the club for their licensees and volunteers) would find takers.

Mr. Gortari recognized that this recipe is substantial for his club, whose annual budget fluctuates between 1.1 and 1.2 million euros. Four years ago, they had invested the sum collected in fitting out their stands, buying a bus and restructuring the club.

"It is a question of managing as well as possible, as a good father, we have seen so many small clubs bite the dust after a campaign in the French Cup," he comments.

If the Marseillais keep their share, "they are within their rights. It would be nice of them if they leave it," he said.

Not all professional teams leave their share of revenue to amateurs: Nîmes has not done so, Lille has reserved it for its own amateur partners.

"Amateur football has to be given a helping hand, but that may not be everyone's vision," added Gortari.

"Having said that, the most important thing is to please the supporters," he concludes. "Whether this day is a football party, finances are in the background."

Everyone needs it, and Granville, and OM.

© 2020 AFP