World Cup winner and Lyon manager Fabio Grosso sustained facial injuries on Sunday after Marseille fans attacked the team bus.
As the Lyon bus headed to the Stade Velodrome for the Ligue 1 match, which was due to kick off at 19:45 GMT before being abandoned, a small number of Marseille fans started throwing rocks and projectiles.
Falling shards of glass subsequently injured Grosso and his assistant Raffaele Longo, causing facial injuries that required medical treatment. Grosso, who scored Italy's 2006 World Cup-winning penalty, needed 12 stitches as a result. Six buses containing Lyon fans were also targeted.
"If in the past, attacks of this type had already taken place, which Olympique Lyonnais has always regretted, this Sunday, 29 October, a new step towards the worst was taken," Lyon said in a statement.
“In fact, several secure windows were broken by heavy projectiles of unknown nature. These same projectiles penetrated the interior of the bus. Coach Fabio Grosso and his assistant Raffaele Longo were directly hit and seriously injured in the face during this attack.
"Present with them on the bus, the players and staff were also deeply affected by the violence of this attack, which Olympique Lyonnais strongly condemns.”
Lyon president John Textor also highlighted the severity of the situation.
"He [Grosso] can't hold a conversation, he had shards of glass in his face," Textor told Prime Video.
"I'm very angry. Our players, our coach prepared for tonight and the fans wanted to see the game played. Once the window was broken, other projectiles hit him, just above the eye. There were beer bottles, which hit him on the forehead."
Marseille also condemned the attack, with the club willing to comply with any decision made on the fixture's future.
“The club wishes a speedy recovery to Lyon coach Fabio Grosso and strongly condemns this violent behaviour which has no place in the world of football and in society,” Marseille stated.
“Due to a handful of mindless people, the game planned for this evening was spoiled and deprived 65,000 supporters of attending a football match.”
This is not the first time this has happened (and not the last sadly) but I have no words for this. This is what was left of the Lyon bus after it was attacked by Marseille fans throwing stones. Unacceptable again. pic.twitter.com/15noNgk3J2October 29, 2023
