French police have arrested nine people after the attack on buses carrying Lyon’s football team and fans that injured coach Fabio Grosso, forcing the postponement of the match in Marseille announced on Monday.
Italian Fabio Grosso, 45, suffered head injuries, as did one of his assistants, after the attack that resulted in the breaking of some windows of the Lyon bus, which was on its way to the Vélodrome stadium in Marseille, where he was supposed to will be transferred to the Vélodrome stadium in Marseille. play the meeting.
The Lyon bus was attacked and manager Fabio Grosso was injured. pic.twitter.com/9RnDDIC8Go
– Football Tweet ⚽ (@soccer__tweet) October 29, 2023
FIFA president Gianni Infantino declared that “there is absolutely no place for violence in football,” in a post published on Instagram, following the incidents on the sidelines of the game.
“Such events, such as those in Marseille before the Lyon match, have no place in our sport, nor in our society. I call on the competent authorities to ensure that appropriate measures are taken,” he said.
Infantino, who shared a photo of Grosso with a bandage on his face, with the message ‘Forza Fábio’, added that “without exception in football, all players, coaches and fans should be able to enjoy” the game safely.
Grosso was injured by falling shards of glass and required medical treatment, as did his assistant Raffaele Longo, after the attacks on buses en route to the stadium, which also injured five police officers.
The president of Lyon, John Textor, the club where Portuguese players Anthony Lopes and Diego Moreira play, expressed “deep anger” at the incident and his Marseille counterpart Pablo Longoria also condemned what he called “completely unacceptable” actions.
“A handful of reckless people ruined tonight’s party and prevented 65,000 fans from watching a football match,” Marseille continued.
Sports Minister Amelia Oudea-Castera called for “tougher restrictions on rioters” and a “global response” and said the French league, clubs and fan groups must take responsibility.
“The images of the stoned Lyon bus and that of Fabio Grosso’s bloodied face are disgusting. These unacceptable acts deny the values of football and sport, and all their perpetrators must be found and severely punished,” the minister said.
As a representative of the French government, Oudéa-Castéra “already” showed his “support” for the club and the coach and assistant.
‘These actions, characterized by stupidity and hatred, which have nothing to do with sport, must be eradicated with the utmost determination by the collective of all actors, public and private, who truly love sport and must unite more strongly than ever to support it to defend. ” he concluded.
Source: DN
