In a statement released by Olympique de Marseille, Frank McCourt, owner of the Olympian club, reacted to the violent incidents that occurred on Saturday January 31 at the training center and which led to the postponement of the OM-Rennes match.
“OM supporters love their club and it is therefore impossible for me to recognize this status for these tiny groups of thugs,” he explained on Sunday.
We will work closely with all the authorities to ensure that those found responsible for these outrageous acts of violence are brought to justice.
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The Boston billionaire even draws a daring parallel between the individuals who made their way into the Commandery and the mob of pro-Trump activists who besieged the Capitol, succeeding in entering the seat of the United States Congress in early January.
"The period we are going through is troubled, sometimes shaken by uncontrolled actions and yet orchestrated by very malicious forces," he continues.
Like so many citizens in America and around the world, I was overwhelmed and outraged by the images of Capitol Hill, stormed by irresponsible people obeying injunctions that went beyond them.
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For Frank McCourt, “what happened in Washington DC and what happened in Marseille follows a comparable logic: a few sources feed a blaze made up of opinions, invectives and threats which are amplified by the networks social, creating the conditions that lead to violence and chaos.
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"A policy of consolidation and recovery"
Saturday afternoon, around 300 supporters gathered in front of the Commandery asking for the resignation of OM leaders, throwing firecrackers, fireworks and smoke before a few managed to cross the gates.
According to the club, thefts were committed, vehicles damaged and five trees were burnt.
The amount of damage inside the buildings would amount to hundreds of thousands of euros.
The Spaniard Alvaro even received a projectile in the back.
On Sunday morning, 18 people were still in custody.
🔴 Things are heating up at La #Commanderie!
Several groups sprayed the entrance to the training center with smoke and fireworks.
They try to get inside the enclosure (Credit: Cédric Monné) #OM #TeamOM pic.twitter.com/jasL2Ef6ch
- La Provence (@laprovence) January 30, 2021
McCourt, however, reaffirms his commitment to the club and that of Jacques-Henri Eyraud, who has been in the sights of supporters for several weeks.
At the end of 2020, Eyraud had finished crystallizing resentment during a management conference widely relayed on social networks in which he mocked the attitude of supporting ex-employees of the club ...
"With President Jacques-Henri Eyraud, we are leading a policy of cleaning up and rehabilitating the club," he concludes.
This surge of violence leads me more than ever to reaffirm my will and my commitment for OM and Marseille.
We are builders.
With the whole team and its president, OM will continue their journey.
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