OL players celebrate their victory against Brest with the supporters (Photo by OLIVIER CHASSIGNOLE / AFP)
With the various types of violence which have exploded in Ligue 1 in recent times, the performance of the OL – ASSE derby is inevitably being scrutinized. The fear of a match being stopped following chants is there, even if the club calls for calm in the stands over the chants.
Saturday late afternoon, the tone was set: the supporters ofOL are ready for this derby that everyone has been waiting for for two seasons. In a crowd that was expected at Décines, the Lyon players had a glimpse of what could await them this Sunday evening at Parc OL (8:45 p.m.). An overheated atmosphere and nearly 58,000 spectators ready to play their role as 12th man to achieve a 47th victory in the derby.
The match must still reach its conclusion… Because today this is the biggest fear within the Lyon club before the kick-off of this meeting. The increase in violence and homophobic or racist remarks in recent weeks in Ligue 1 has pushed the authorities to want to sanction these actions as much as possible, including stopping the match and a match lost for the home team.
Lacazette: “We don’t want to get into difficulty”
Obviously, at the time of receiving Saint-Etienne raises the specter of seeing the derby being taken as an example. There will be no Saint-Etienne supporters, however, the chants against the Greens use words which fall within the framework of this targeted homophobia. Prevention has been done in recent days, but Saturday's training showed that it was difficult to avoid these excesses.
However, Friday, Alexandre Lacazette wanted to send a message to all supporter groups. “Obviously, we want everything to go well, I have no doubt. We don't want to get into difficulty with certain songs, if we can avoid it. We want to celebrate and win this match, but we cannot control what happens in the stands, just as the supporters do not control what happens on the pitch. I am captain of the team. What happens outside is the capos who manage. I stay in my place.” However, an entire club could find itself penalized…
