How did the 8,000 Lyon supporters experience their return to the stadium?


At Parc OL,

The supporters of the north turn of the Parc OL will probably not keep in mind as a major memory of their return to the stadium the improbable “quasi-treble” of Karl Toko Ekambi. No, their most fiery streaks in this Lyon-Wolfsburg (4-1), Saturday night, clearly took place during two weak times for Peter Bosz’s players. The reason ? Balls recovered at the heart of the bend, the second thanks to the malicious complicity of a warmly thanked Rayan Cherki, and very nice drops exchanges punctuated by “olé, olé” before interceptions of stewards.

The Lyon fans had fun making long passes in the north turn on Saturday night against Wolfsburg. – Jérémy Laugier / 20 Minutes

It is this kind of unexpected streak that we have missed so much in Ligue 1 since March 2020. Because they were only 8,000 on Saturday night at Décines (despite a maximum gauge set at 25,000), the supporters clearly contributed to the match (sequentially) euphoric of their team. For an OL lover like Julien, in his forties who has hardly missed a home match for 10 years, this July 17, 2021 has taken on a special flavor.

“A distance has settled between the team and its supporters”

“Even if it’s a friendly match, we wanted to come and do another round here with the friends,” he explains. There’s a new coach, the opening of a leisure center with OL Vallée… It’s still weird to come back here after all this time. »He must have thought for a long time to remember his last visit to the Parc OL. It was the semi-final of the Coupe de France lost against PSG (1-5) on March 5, 2020, after a series of madness in “the formidable tool” after the reception of Juve and the ‘ASSE. A week later, confinement launched 17 months without football at the stadium, except for rare meetings limited to 5,000 people during the summer of 2020.

The Parc OL was very far from being filled on Saturday, for its first big authorized gauge since March 2020.
The Parc OL was very far from being filled on Saturday, for its first big authorized gauge since March 2020. – Jérémy Laugier / 20 Minutes

17 endless months watching the games on television, instead of doing it in an enclosure located 10 km from their home. “Unintentionally, a distance has settled between the team and its supporters, analysis Léandre (25 years), jersey of the legendary Belgian ex-side of OL Eric Deflandre on the back. Seen as we do not know what sauce we are going to be eaten, we want to participate today in the renewal of this life where the public can return to the stadium. “” It feels good to enter this stadium for another reason than to be vaccinated, “smiles his friend Guillaume, with whom he preferred to string together two beers rather than see the opening match at 6.30 p.m. against Villefranche (2 -0).

“I do not have the impression that it is started again as before”

For Thierry (56 years old), time was also long: “We are so weaned from football in live that I was vaccinated on purpose, from April, to be able to return to the stadium without incident with my colleagues as soon as it was possible. “For some of them, like Richard, used to the south turn, the optimism was not necessarily back on Saturday:” I’m happy to see some football pals again but it’s not the crazy excitement. I do not have the impression that it is started again as before because I tell myself that nothing is certain, and that we could be asked to stay at home in a month. In any case, when you are a supporter and you have the opportunity to come to your stadium, I find it weird not to take advantage of it ”.

Last week, Lyon supporters cracked smoke during the friendly match against Bourg-en-Bresse (5-1), played in Bourgoin-Jallieu (Isère).
Last week, Lyon supporters cracked smoke during the friendly match against Bourg-en-Bresse (5-1), played in Bourgoin-Jallieu (Isère). – MOURAD ALLILI / SIPA

A message that can target in particular the Bad Gones. The main group of Lyon supporters has indeed published a press release this week to announce its “official absence”, “given the restrictions”, while the Lyon 1950, in a small committee on Saturday, have not planned any events. The dozens of people standing in the bends, and multiplying the “old-fashioned” songs, were not taken back from the meeting by the security services for their non-wearing of the mask. A flexibility that feared not having many Lyon fans preferring to boycott the Parc OL on Saturday night.

“We hope to welcome 50,000 or even 60,000 spectators in September”

“I have already resumed my subscription and I am ready to make efforts to return to the stadium, assures Jean-Pierre of the north turn. But having to get tested to see a game outside is nonsense, just like having to wear a mask. I’m afraid I have no other choice but to skip another football season. “Is it possible that for the resumption of Ligue 1 against Brest, on August 7 or 8, the turns are as sparsely populated as against Wolfsburg?

The Lyon stadium manager Xavier Pierrot, who urges the public to favor the TousAntiCovid app for faster control, is confident: “It is true that we would have hoped to attract more spectators tonight. But it is the problems of health passes and school vacations that end up with 8,000 people ”. The return of the stake of a new season of Ligue 1, with the attractive play promised by Peter Bosz, could change a lot of things for supporters so long frustrated. “We hope to welcome 50,000 or even 60,000 spectators in September,” says Xavier Pierrot. It can give nice open scrums in the north turn, if Rayan Cherki still makes his own by then.



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