The day before the 30th anniversary of OM's victory in the Champions League, the mayor of Marseille, Benoît Payan, announced this Thursday in an interview with the daily La Provence that one of the esplanades leading to the Stade Vélodrome would now bear the name of Bernard Tapie, former businessman, politician and president of OM, who died in 2021.
"The large esplanade that leads to the Velodrome stadium, on the Jean-Bouin side (boulevard Michelet) will be named after Bernard Tapie. We mark in marble his name, his passage, his contribution to the history of this club, "explained the mayor various left of the city. Questioned by AFP, the municipality said that the inauguration of this esplanade Bernard Tapie would take place "later".
The 1993 final rebroadcast on a giant screen this Friday
During the one and only success of a French club in the most prestigious European competition, Bernard Tapie was then the owner and president of OM. A few months later, however, OM was demoted to the second division as a result of the VA-OM affair, the corruption scandal that precipitated the fall of Tapie, then imprisoned.
In the interview with La Provence, Benoît Payan explains about this decision that it was "our duty and our responsibility to do so. This is not about the politician or businessman, who was complex and out of the ordinary. I remember the image of the sports leader. »
"The fans nicknamed him the Boss because he carried OM to the top of Europe. Today, it is in our history, "added the mayor of Marseille. This Friday, Marseille will celebrate the 30th anniversary of its victory in C1 with a celebration at the City Hall and a rebroadcast of the 1993 final on a giant screen. At 23:00, supporters also planned a massive lighting of smoke over more than 20 km along the Marseille coast.