The divorce between the players of Lyon and part of his swollen ultra reached its peak on Tuesday night after the incidents that were recorded on the grass of the stadium of the Leonese club as soon as the Champions League match against Leipzig ended. What should have been a great party, to achieve Lyon classified 'in extremis' and miraculously for the round of 16, almost ended up as a pitched battle.

Several players recriminated an amateur of the radical group Bad Gones that penetrated the playing field displaying a banner in which he put ' Marcelo lárgate ', in reference to the Brazilian central defense of the French club, and in which there was also a drawing of a donkey head Memphis Depay , newly appointed captain of the team, ran towards the fan and snatched the cloth furiously. Then there was a noise in which soccer players and fans pushed themselves among insults , with the stadium's security services overflowing trying to tidy up.

The most angry of the players was Marcelo, who dedicated several 'combs' to the ultras in front of the television cameras, which showed everything live. The club president, Jean-Michel Aulas , criticized his player for the gestures, although he considered that it is a "human reaction" to being insulted, and announced after the meeting that he will take action against the provocative fan.

"That fan will be sanctioned. I do not want people who insult the players to return to the stadium. There is no excuse," said Aulas in an interview with the club's television, while defending Memphis Depay for acting against the fan of flag. The Dutch soccer player also did not hide his discomfort in the press area and charged the Bad Gones for his attitude.

"I've never seen anything like that"

"Have you seen how they spit on us? Players and members of the coaching staff! I've never seen anything like that. It's a shame," Depay told RMC Sport cameras. The forward also said that it is "very hard" to see a player of his team who is constantly targeting "insults to his family and his children", and who does not understand why there are people who do not go to the stadium to encourage "everything the team".

The fans of the Kop Virage Nord, which brings together the fans of the north tier, where the Bad Gones are , consider that the team does not give everything and that they lack respect. "The players celebrated the qualification in the south bottom. When they were going to retire to the locker room it was Rudi García (team coach) who told them to come to greet us and that raised the tension," Eric Bonnenberger, a member of the moderate wing, told Efe of the Kop Virage Nord.

"The discomfort comes from afar because we consider that we do our work during the game, but the players are not doing theirs, " said the fan, who acknowledged that his group of followers has a habit of taking it with a player, as has happened in the past with Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa or Bertrand Traoré. "On the other hand, I don't approve the banner against Marcelo and I admit that I liked Depay's reaction in his role as captain," concluded the Leonese fan.

Possible sanctions

This tense climate is one of the consequences of the disastrous start of the Lyon season, which has known three coaches in the last four months: Bruno Genesio, dismissed at the end of last season; Sylvinho, who only occupied the bench in the first 11 days; and, currently, Rudi García .

After the defeat in Lisbon against Benfica at the end of October in the Champions League (1-2) several members of the Bad Gones faced each other at the airport with Marcelo and almost reached their hands. Since then, the Brazilian suffers a campaign of harassment and demolition by that ultra group , a group close to the extreme right and minority but with much influence in the stands of the OL Stadium.

The Leonese club could pay dearly for the incident on Tuesday, given that several fans invaded the field , in addition to the systematic launch of objects and bottles in each corner kick of Leipzig. On Lyon weighs the threat of a new closure of the field having been recently sanctioned with playing two home games without a public. One of them was met against Shakhtar Donetsk in October 2018 and the other was suspended. UEFA has in its hands execute the penalty of the second match for what happened on Tuesday, which would mean that Lyon would play in its stadium the round of 16 with the empty stands.

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