30 years later, “we cannot forget the tragedy of Furiani”

It was supposed to be an event, but 30 years later, Furiani’s tragedy remains the worst disaster in French sport. The collapse of a stand during the match between FC Bastia and Olympique de Marseille killed 19 people and nearly 2 300 wounded.

The memory of the tragedy is still vivid for the victims, as Josepha Guidicelli recalls, whose father, a radio technician died on May 5, 1992. “Furiani was 30 years ago, but it’s like it was yesterday. Many people have experienced this tragedy live. I think that all this means that we cannot forget the tragedy of Furiani, that we must above all not forget it, that we must remember, that the work of memory is legitimate.”

For the president of the collective, justice was incomplete and there was a non-trial: “There was a 100 per cent chance that the stand would collapse. What happened was disgusting. […] It would have taken only one person to say stop to avoid this tragedy, which did not happen.