(Reuters) – The French League (LFP) announced on Thursday that the rescheduled Ligue 1 match between Olympique de Marseille and Olympique Lyonnais, originally postponed due to an attack on the Lyon team bus, will take place at Marseille’s Stade Velodrome on Dec. 6.
The LFP’s disciplinary commission decided not to take any action following the incident, a ruling that has upset Lyon, who have stated their intention to appeal the decision.
The initial fixture, set for Oct. 29, was canceled after Lyon’s team bus was targeted with bottles and stones, resulting in injuries to coach Fabio Grosso as the players were heading to the Stade Velodrome.
Despite Lyon’s director of football calling for the game to be held at a neutral venue, the LFP has determined that the rescheduled game will be played in Marseille. The announcement came after the LFP initially announced the rescheduled date on Nov. 2 without naming a specific venue.
“The LFP Competitions Commission has decided, following the information and guarantees provided by the Prefecture of Bouches-du-Rhône, to play the Olympique de Marseille – Olympique Lyonnais match, counting for the 10th matchday of Ligue 1, at the Orange Vélodrome, on Wednesday 6 December 2023,” the LFP said.
Following the decision by the disciplinary commission not to penalize Marseille as the incidents occurred on a public highway, Lyon has expressed their intention to appeal the ruling.
“Olympique Lyonnais is deeply shocked by the decision of the disciplinary committee to declare itself incompetent to deal with the extremely serious incidents that severely hampered the arrival of its professional squad near the Stade Velodrome on Sunday, October 29,” the club said in a statement.
Lyon is currently at the bottom of Ligue 1 with four points from 10 matches, while Marseille is in ninth place with 13 points.
(Reporting by Trevor Stynes, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
