Marseilles (AFP)
In the aftermath of the serious incidents which took place at the Commanderie, the training center of the Olympique de Marseille, the owner Frank McCourt reaffirmed his support for President Jacques-Henri Eyraud, the main target of the anger of the supporters.
But the club will now have to find a little serenity to somehow end a completely chaotic season.
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What happened?
Sunday morning, the insulting graffiti had been erased and the entrance to La Commanderie, in the east of Marseille, cleaned.
Of the violence on Saturday, there remained as traces only three charred cypress trees next to the gate and the exploded windows of the reception point, replaced by taped cardboard.
In a statement released Sunday morning, Frank McCourt, US owner of OM, estimated that Saturday's incidents, committed by "small groups of thugs", responded to a "logic comparable" to that of those which took place " a few weeks ago in Washington DC ", with the invasion of the Capitol by supporters of Donald Trump.
In fact, the procession which gathered on Saturday in front of the Commanderie brought together between 300 and 400 people, linked to all groups of OM supporters, but without any distinctive sign of belonging.
After throwing firecrackers, fireworks and smoke, several dozen of them then crossed the perimeter walls, where the violence and degradation began.
In total, more than sixty OM employees, members of the sports group or other services, were present.
"The employees were shocked, the players too. We really avoided a tragedy," a source within the club told AFP.
Twenty-five people were arrested on Saturday and OM, interviewed by AFP, said that the first complaints had already been filed this Sunday.
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How did we get here ?
The exasperation of Marseille supporters, opposed to the club management and furious at the team's recent sad results, had been mounting for weeks.
Fans cannot attend matches at the Stade Vélodrome, but they can put up banners there to convey their messages.
"You shame us" or "You are disgusting", we could read recently in the turns of the stadium.
At the end of November, supporters had already climbed to the Commanderie before a match against Nantes.
They had blocked the bus for a few minutes for tense discussions with Villas-Boas and a few players.
For the past month, each home game has been preceded by a rally of angry fans in front of the stadium and on Saturday dozens of protesting and sometimes insulting banners had been deployed all over the city.
These sometimes targeted the players but especially the management of the club and particularly President Eyraud.
The leader, however, took a step back and has been less present in the media for several months.
But he remains a prisoner of the promises of the famous "Champions Project" and is judged "above ground" by many supporters who feel little concerned by the many societal initiatives of the club.
His popularity collapsed even more in December after he spoke of the "danger" of having too many Marseillais or OM supporters within the club.
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And now ?
Affected by the incidents on Saturday, the management united on Sunday.
"With the whole team and its president, OM will continue their journey," McCourt assured.
Asked about TF1, Mr. Eyraud for his part admitted "clumsiness" and considered that the dialogue was "absolutely necessary".
But he also explained that his mission remained to "revitalize, modernize, build a long-term project".
In sporting terms, the consequences of Saturday's coup cannot remain trivial either.
Now 7th and taken from the top of the table, the Villas Boas team finds itself with two late matches to play in a busy schedule.
The players trained normally on Sunday morning after interacting with coach, president and sporting director Pablo Longoria.
The schedule for the week has remained unchanged, with the exception of moving the pre-match press conference from Monday to Tuesday.
While Villas-Boas announced on Friday that he would most likely not stay at the end of the season, Longoria must find a midfielder likely to replace Morgan Sanson by Monday midnight and the end of the transfer window.
In the context, that would be no small feat.
© 2021 AFP