The Velodrome finds colors. For the return semi-final, on May 5, against the Dutch side Feyenoord, the players of Olympique de Marseille will be able to rely on the support of the north bend… made up of nearly 6,500 children.
This week, UEFA, the body of European football, had sanctioned OM with a partial closed session for this meeting after the incidents between supporters during the quarter-final against the Greeks of PAOK Salonika. Finally, as during the match against Lazio Rome last November, the stand will not remain silent with the invitation of thousands of children.
Young Ukrainian refugees at the Velodrome?
With a gauge set at 6,500 invitations, half of the grandstand can therefore be filled. These children are licensed in clubs linked to the “Next Generation” program run by the OM Foundation. There will also be young people from other sports associations or registered in summer camps in the region. All will be supervised by adult guides.
That’s not all. OM also plans to invite Ukrainian refugee children to take part in this great football celebration. We think in particular of the dozens of families currently housed on one of the Corsica Linea boats in Marseille.
An organization to review
The crowd could be that of the big nights for this semi-final. So there is a certain mistrust among some club presidents. Kamel Ferrag, president of AS Mazargues, did not did not keep good memories of the previous one against Lazio : “The initiative is beautiful and good but they must review their organization for the safety of our children.”
It was necessary to recover at the time the places near the Chanot park before the meeting. “You can imagine, lots of children with the attendants in this pre-match intensity… We were stuck outside for a long time. It was dangerous for the safety of the little ones.”
The president hopes that OM will change their strategy by authorizing the clubs to recover the places upstream, otherwise he fears having to “decline this invitation”.