The groups of supporters of Olympique de Marseille again denied this Thursday in a press release any “threat of death” or “violence” during a meeting on Monday with the club’s management, also citing “worrying abuses”. , particularly in the management of the training center.
“No death threats or threats of violence have ever been made against the leaders, their families or anyone else,” assure Marseille supporters in a long press release signed by six of the seven groups represented at the Stade Vélodrome. Commando Ultras 84, an important Virage Sud group, is not a signatory. These seven groups were present at the Commanderie during the famous meeting on Monday, which was held in an extremely tense atmosphere.
In the hours following this meeting, the club’s management took a step back and none of its members are in Amsterdam, where the club faces Ajax in the Europa League on Thursday evening. Coach Marcelino, a close friend of president Pablo Longoria, has left the club, and interim Jacques Abardonado will be on the bench. In a long interview with La Provence on Thursday, Longoria considered that “the limits (had been) exceeded” during this meeting and denounced “unacceptable” behavior, calling for the club to finally operate “with a minimum of normality” .
“We can no longer be silent”
In their press release, the supporters explain that the discussions “quickly turned to the numerous dysfunctions of the training center” and evoke “questionable management methods”.
They also speak of the “termination of contract of 36 players from the training center, all from Marseillais, since June 2023 or of “the oppressive influence which would be exercised by certain agents towards young professional contracts”. They also regret the “mutism” of management in the face of various issues raised during the meeting, such as the departure of “historical professional players” or the increase in the price of subscriptions.
“We can no longer be silent. we must not confuse intimidation with defense of the interests of our players and our colors,” they insisted, then speaking of “worrying abuses denounced in particular by the players at the training center and their families.”