Match postponed after Lyon team bus stoned in Marseille, coach Fabio Grosso injured
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Firefighters standing next to Lyon's damaged team bus, after the bus was stoned on its way to the stadium in Marseille.
PHOTO: AFP
PARIS – The Marseille-Lyon Ligue 1 match was postponed after the away team’s bus was stoned on Sunday as it entered the Stade Velodrome, with Lyon coach Fabio Grosso and his assistant injured during the attack.
A crisis unit has been set up to decide on the fixture between the two fierce rivals in the wake of the incident.
Lyon club president John Textor said Grosso was left dazed after being hit by various projectiles.
“He (Grosso) is better now. Twenty minutes ago, it was difficult to have a conversation with him,” said Textor.
“Once the window was broken, other projectiles hit him, just above the eye. There were beer bottles, which hit him on the forehead.”
Textor added that the Lyon players initially wanted to go ahead with the game. “The coach came in, with bandages and he was confused, I would say. The players wanted to play,” the American said.
“The staff wanted to play, our coach wanted to play, even if he was a little inconsistent at that moment.
“The referee wanted to treat this matter as if it had taken place inside the stadium. He wanted the coach to be evaluated by a doctor.
“During this time, players’ opinions began to change. They saw the coach passing through the locker room and it was clear he was not himself, that he had not recovered.”
At around 6.45pm local time, Lyon’s bus was attacked with stones and four windows were broken, injuring Grosso on the face above the left eye.
Referee Francois Letexier said they took into account Lyon’s desire for the match not to take place.
“Based on Lyon’s wishes and the protocol, the decision was taken not to start the match,” he explained, adding that reports “have been forwarded to the relevant authorities who will decide what action to take”.
Prime Video footage showed Grosso with a bloody face, then later with a bandage on his head as he came out of the stadium’s medical room. A photo circulating on X (formerly Twitter) appeared to show him lying on a stretcher with a cut above his left eye.
“These images are revolting. Seeing the stoned bus like that, the bloody face of Fabio Grosso... These are unacceptable acts which go against the very values of football and sport,” French sports minister Amelie Oudea-Castera told AFP.
“I hope that the investigation will be carried out quickly, that the perpetrators are found and they are severely punished.”
Seven suspects had been arrested on Sunday night, the minister added. A bus containing Lyon supporters was also attacked with stones and the windows damaged, a local police source told AFP.
A video shared on X by a Lyon fan seems to show a bus with several broken windows.
“These are completely unacceptable circumstances,” said Marseille club president Pablo Longoria. “My first thought is for Fabio Grosso. I went to see him as soon as I arrived at the stadium, I saw how he was.”
Seven-time Ligue 1 champions Lyon have endured a disastrous season and sit winless at the bottom of the table. AFP, REUTERS
