Crisis situation. The president of OM Pablo Longoria, as well as his closest collaborators within the club’s management, decided this Tuesday to withdraw, the day after a stormy meeting with representatives of the supporters’ groups, we learned AFP from a source with knowledge of the matter.
“The OM Directory cannot accept personal threats. Its members cannot tolerate individual attacks and any form of unfounded public defamation. A relationship based on intimidation cannot guarantee the minimum acceptable conditions so that the club’s Executive Board can continue to invest in the transformation of OM,” the club wrote in a press release.
No details on Marcelino
According to the source interviewed by AFP, Pablo Longoria, football director Javier Ribalta, general director Pedro Iriondo and financial director Stéphane Tessier therefore chose to “step aside” to “think” about their future within OM.
They will not travel to Amsterdam, where the Marseille club must face Ajax on Thursday for the first day of the Europa League, but “no decision has been taken” as to whether or not they will continue in their functions.
Furthermore, no details were given about Marcelino, the club’s coach, also Spanish and close friend of Longoria. On Tuesday morning, the daily L’Equipe wrote that Marcelino had informed his players of his desire to leave the club.
A difficult start to the season
The Marseille club, which is experiencing a difficult start to the season on a sporting level, entered into crisis after a meeting between management and representatives of supporter groups which was held on Monday evening at the Commanderie, the center of club training.
Planned for a long time, this meeting took place in an atmosphere described to AFP by one of the participants as “very tense”.
“Following a meeting held on Monday September 18, 2023 at the Robert Louis-Dreyfus Training Center, representatives of the supporters’ associations expressed their wish to see the current OM Directory resign. The threat of a “war” (sic) against them was issued, as long as they did not resign,” specifies OM in its press release.