Mayhem grips Tino’s French League Lionel Messi

Robson Sharuko
Senior Sports Editor
LIONEL MESSI’S arrival provided a ray of light but the chaos at Lyon, and the violent attack of the Marseille players, dragged the French top-flight league back into familiar savage territory.

The Argentina captain arrived under a blaze of the global spotlight, amid expectations his grand presence will boost the image, and appeal, of the league, considered the lightweights of Europe’s Big Five.

Messi is set to make his debut for PSG, in their league match against Marshall Munetsi’s Stade Reims, at the weekend.

But, the focus has shifted from the Argentine superstar, as French Ligue 1, not for the first time, battles the demons, which have stalked it for years.

On Sunday, a number of Marseille players, were injured, after an ugly altercation exploded, in their league match against Nice at the Allianz Riviera, on Sunday night.

Trouble started when French international midfielder, Dimitri Payet, was hit by a plastic bottle towards the end of the match.

An, when he tossed it back into the crowd, some of the home team’s fans stormed onto the pitch, provoking a melee, which forced the abandonment of the match.

Yesterday, the public prosecutor’s office in Nice told AFP news agency an inquiry had been opened, into Sunday night’s incident, in which a number of Marseille players were injured.

It concluded a dramatic weekend, for Ligue 1, which started with some Lyon Ultras, known as the “Bad Gones,’’ marching to their club’s complex, on Friday. They left a banner in which they threatened their players to either “move or break.’’ Zimbabwe international forward, Tino Kadewere, is on the books of Lyon, who are enduring a difficult start to the season, under new Dutch coach, Peter Bosz, with two draws and a depressing defeat.

A statement, on the Ultras Twitter account, was even more threatening as they blamed the “rotten mentality,’’ within the club, for their club’s poor run.

“Individualism takes precedence over the collective, complacency over work and disrespect over love of the jersey,’’ the Ultras claimed.

They claimed some players only wanted to use the club, as a springboard, to join other teams.

They said some of the younger players “start their careers with an oversized ego and expect the club to give in to their whims,’’ and there was need for a cleansing exercise, at Lyon.

Bosz said he shared some of the concerns of the ultras and was banking on his team beating newly-promoted Clermont Foot, playing in the top-flight for the first time in their history,to ease the tension.

However, despite leading 3-1, with just 10 minutes left, Lyon blew a golden chance, for victory, as they allowed the visitors to score twice and force a 3-3 draw.

“We still lost two points, with our qualities, it should have been over,’’ the Dutchman told the French media. “I saw things that you don’t see in the Under-12s.’’

The situation at the club has been explosive since a dressing room bust-up, after their 0-3 loss to Angers, resulted in Brazilian defender, Marcelo, being thrown out of the first team.

Two years ago, Marcelo was at the centre of another row, at the club, when the Ultras displayed an offensive banner, describing him as a “donkey’’ during a Champions League match, against RB Leipzig. Memphis Depay, who has since left for Barcelona, struck a late equaliser, in that match, to force a 2-2 draw, which handed Lyon a ticket, into the next round of the tournament.

The Dutchman then sprinted half the length of the field and tried to wrestle the banner from a fan who was displaying it.

He was joined by other Lyon players, in the stand-off, on the terraces.

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