“
Much more than a supporter.
It is with great sadness that we learned of the death of René Malleville
”, wrote on his Twitter account OM, which faces Rennes at home this Sunday.
René Malleville was 73 years old.
He announced several weeks ago on Twitter that he was suffering from cancer.
"
Think well that I am not at the best, I embrace you all
", he had written again Wednesday.
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“
A day of mourning a match day.
René Malleville, one of the most emblematic OM supporters, has just left us.
He will have made us vibrate, laugh and cry.
He was the voice of thousands of supporters.
We already miss her voice.
Ciao René
”, wrote on Twitter the mayor of the city Benoît Payan.
“
Supporter among the supporters, tireless defender of OM, he gave his time, his energy and his soul for our club.
There will be sadness in the Stade Vélodrome this afternoon,
”added Renaud Muselier, president of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regional Council.
Even if he had become a true symbol of Marseille and of OM supporters, Malleville, born in Aude, only arrived in the city of Provence at the age of 10.
There he was a welder, then a bus driver at the Régie des Transports Marseillais (RTM), where he was a very committed trade unionist, before becoming a bar owner.
He was also municipal councilor to Mayor Gaston Defferre, from 1977 to 1983.
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A thunderous supporter of OM, shoulder-length hair, blue eyes and high verb, he was successively a member of the Yankees then the Dodgers, two of the club's main groups of supporters. For more than 15 years, he appeared in various media as a columnist, in particular on “
Touche pas à mon poste
” and on the Marseille site Le Phocéen, where his “
Minute de René
” was an expected meeting, between analysis of the life of OM, outbursts full of banter, local accent and very personal vocabulary.
As soon as the announcement of his death, many tribute messages were published on social networks, from supporters and local journalists. Valentin Rongier, OM midfielder, posted him a photo of Malleville accompanied by the message "
RIP
".