The board of Olympique Marseille temporarily steps down. The reason is a meeting last Monday with representatives of various supporter groups, during which threats were made.
According to a club statement, the supporters asked the directors of Olympique Marseille to resign, or there would be consequences. 'The management cannot accept personal threats,' the statement released late Tuesday evening said.
The French top club describes it as an untenable situation, leading chairman Pablo Longoria and his directors Javier Ribalta, Stéphane Tessier, and Pedro Iriondo to temporarily lay down their duties, before a period of reflection followed by a final decision on their future.
This means that the board of Marseille will not be present in Amsterdam on Thursday evening during the Europa League match against Ajax. French media expect that coach Marcelino and his technical staff will also resign, although the club has not yet communicated anything about this. According to French media, Marcelino takes the threats against Longoria so personally that he doesn't want to continue at the club where he has only been working since the summer. Club icon Jean-Pierre Papin would then step in at the Johan Cruijff Arena."
