It is a disappointment for the Marseille football clubs which were to bring their kids to the Vélodrome stadium on May 5 for the semi-final return of the Europa League Conference between Om and Feyenoord. They learn this Monday that the north stand should remain empty for this meeting which could bring Om to the final.
The decision was announced last week. After having been sanctioned behind closed doors by UEFA due to excesses, OM had decided to open their northern bend to 6,500 children for this European match. At the end of last week, the club had contacted around twenty partner association clubs to tell them that dozens of places were offered for their young members aged 8 to 14. OM also had plans to invite Ukrainian refugee children to take part in this great football celebration.
Finally on Monday, these clubs received a new message announcing that the north stand would “not be filled for this poster”.
It seems that the plans have therefore changed in recent hours, perhaps for security reasons, but without any explanation being provided for the moment to the association leaders concerned.
In November 2021, 10,000 children were invited to the north bend, for the OM-Lazio match, also following the closure of the north bend for incidents.