Owner of Olympique de Marseille, Frank McCourt broke his silence on Sunday to firmly denounce the "serious incidents" that occurred at the Olympique de Marseille training center on Saturday.
In a press release, the wealthy American businessman described the perpetrators of the disturbances as "small groups of thugs" and categorically refuses to associate these individuals with groups of supporters.
“OM supporters love their club and it is therefore impossible in my eyes to recognize this status for these tiny groups of thugs,” said the shareholder who asked that those responsible be brought to justice.
25 people were arrested and 18 were still in police custody on Sunday.
Official
press
release
Statement by Frank H. McCourt on the very serious incidents that occurred at the Olympique de Marseille training center at La Commanderie.
- Olympique de Marseille (@OM_Officiel) January 31, 2021
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The incidents of the Commandery compared ... to the storming of the Capitol
In his speech, Frank McCourt also draws a parallel between these events of the Commandery and those of the storming of the Capitol a few days ago in the United States.
The leader insists on the weight of social networks in what he considers to be false information relayed around the club.
“What happened a few weeks ago in Washington DC and what happened yesterday in Marseille follow a comparable logic: a few sources are fueling a blaze of opinions, invectives and threats which are amplified by social networks creating the conditions that lead to violence and chaos ", adds the leader who ensures to lead" a policy of sanitation and recovery of the club ", while reaffirming his" will "and his" commitment "in the project launched in the summer of 2016 when he bought the club from Margarita Louis-Dreyfus for around 50 million euros.
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“These dark forces wish to destroy the work accomplished, they only strengthen us in the conduct of our plan, in the monitoring of our objectives.
It is always easier to destroy than to build.
We are builders.
With the whole team and its President, OM will continue on its way, ”concludes the American, supporting President Jacques-Henri Eyraud, the number one target of supporters who have been demanding his resignation for several months.
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