in the middle of a storm, Pablo Longoria announces that he will remain at the head of the club

Towards the end of the crisis? OM president Pablo Longoria announced that he remained in charge of the club during a last-minute press conference organized at the Robert Louis-Dreyfus training center on Friday September 22. Two days after the departure of coach Marcelino, the Marseille club found a little stability by retaining its management team. Supported in a way “unconditional” by the owner, Franck McCourt, and by the club’s supervisory board, he decided to continue his mission. “In view of all this support, I am regaining energy, and I have decided to resume my mission as president of Olympique de Marseille. I will be in Paris on Sunday,” did he declare.

In this message read for about ten minutes, Pablo Longoria, who said he did not want “just denounce a situation”announced its intention to “file a complaint about what happened. It is not a question of fueling a conflict, but simply of putting an end to behavior so that these types of situations do not happen again in the future. ” The leader also admitted to having experienced “complicated days, with a lot of emotion”, reaffirming that what happened on Monday with the representatives of the supporters groups is “inadmissible”. “We must be able to work in a normal football club”he added, while recognizing that “everything is not perfect”.

Longoria in the stands at the Parc des Princes

Olympique de Marseille has been at the heart of a crisis since the start of the week, after an explosive meeting on Monday, September 18, between managers and supporters’ representatives. Following this moment of tension, Pablo Longoria and the management announced their withdrawal, and that they would not be traveling to Amsterdam, for the first Europa League match of the season, Thursday September 21. A trip that coach Marcelino did not make either, whose departure had been made official on the eve of the match, considering that he could not “exercise in good conditions”. In an interview with Provence Thursday, Pablo Longoria estimated that “limits [avaient] been exceeded”.

Aware of“beginning one of the most difficult periods of my mandate”, Pablo Longoria also wants to rely on his team. On a sporting level, the Olympians brought home a draw (3-3) from their match at Ajax, and are preparing to play the Classic on Sunday against PSG at the Parc des Princes. With a president in his post.