The two Spaniards returned to the meeting with supporters’ representatives on Monday, which convinced Marcelino to resign and caused the withdrawal of the president and other members of the management.
Their speech was expected after the sudden crisis into which Olympique de Marseille has been plunged since Monday. The now ex-OM coach, Marcelino, and president Pablo Longoria, who has withdrawn with the other members of the management board of the Marseille club, broke the silence on Wednesday September 20. The first in a message published on X (formerly Twitter), the second in an interview with Provence.
The two men returned to the meeting which took place on Monday, at the Robert-Louis-Dreyfus training center, between the Olympian management and the representatives of the supporters’ associations. “I had prepared myself for the criticism but remained optimistic about the future. I was able to speak for two minutes, then I was cut off and things got out of control very quickly… We were told: ‘All four of us resign, otherwise it’s war!’ The limits have been exceeded”lamented Pablo Longoria.
Supporters deny any threat
These threats made by supporters’ representatives caused the withdrawal of Longoria and other members of management, as explained in the press release published by OM on Tuesday evening. Absent from this meeting, Marcelino mentions it in his message, written in his name and that of the other members of his staff, to explain the reasons for his resignation: “The working conditions are not the most appropriate for exercising our profession with safety and the normality usually inherent in a football club.“
In comments sent to AFP, the leaders of two supporters’ clubs, the South Winners and the Dodger’s, assure that they have not “made death threats nor demanded the resignation of Marcelino“. Rachid Zeroual, who manages the South Winners, explains that he “raised some issues” with managers, particularly regarding the training center.
“We asked questions and we didn’t have answers so it’s true that I told them: ‘I’m asking for your resignation'”continues Zeroual still at AFP, pointing the finger of “psychological harassment” on the children of the training center and their parents.
Longoria has not submitted his resignation
In his interview with ProvenceLongoria mentions other pressures exerted on him by supporters for several months: “Everything I said outside of my circle of trust came out in the press. There were insinuations about my family. All these moves are based on creating fear. ‘If you do that, we’re going to kill you. slander, we’re going to release a file on you.’ Do you know how many times I’ve experienced this in recent months? A lot.” Although he has still not made a decision about his future in Marseille, Pablo Longoria refuses to give in to what he describes as threats: “I can’t accept that, I can’t hear ‘In Marseille it’s like that’ (…). In the current conditions, it is impossible to work.”
Longoria assures that he never intended to resign. The coming days will tell whether or not he and the other members of the board decide to continue their mission at OM, unlike Marcelino and his staff, who have already left far from Marseille. In the meantime, Marseille will begin its European campaign with a Europa League match on Thursday at Ajax Amsterdam. The leaders of the Marseille club will not be on site and the team will be led by Jacques Abardonado, appointed interim coach.