Hard blow for OM!
Some of the Olympique de Marseille faithful will not be able to go to the Vélodrome, Thursday March 7, for the round of 16 first leg of the Europa League against Villarreal.
UEFA has in fact ordered the closure of the Virage Nord due to the use of smoke bombs during the match against Shakhtar Donetsk on February 22 (3-1 victory).
The Marseille club was also fined several times for using laser pointers and delaying the kick-off.
In total, the bill amounts to 107,500 euros for Marseille, according to information from L'Équipe.
A special match against Villarreal
Facing Villarreal, Olympique de Marseille will find an old acquaintance.
The coach of the Yellow Submarine is none other than Marcelino, who joined the Olympian bench at the start of the season.
The Spanish tactician had only managed seven matches in Bouches-du-Rhône, before resigning at the end of September, less than three months after his appointment.
Since then, faces have paraded on the OM bench.
After a short interim period from Jacques Abardonado, the Italian Gennaro Gattuso officiated on the bench for several months.
He was replaced on February 20 by Jean-Louis Gasset, the former coach of Côte d'Ivoire.
Also read “I could have gone around the stadium naked to save his head”: before OM, how Gasset left his mark
Since the arrival of the Frenchman, the Marseille team has been reassured since it has just recorded two successes, against Shakhtar Donetsk (3-1) and against Montpellier last weekend in Ligue 1 (4-1).