Olympique match against Rennes postponed after violent fan protest

Berlin (dpa) – After violent fan protest at the Olympique Marseille training ground, La Commanderie, the Ligue 1 postponed the game against Rennes scheduled for Saturday at the Stade Velodrome stadium in Marseille.

“Given the incidents that happened at the Olympique de Marseille training centre this afternoon, the OM – Stade Rennais match has been postponed to a later date,” Ligue 1 said in a statement.

Around 300 Olympique fans attempted to storm the club’s training centre on Saturday afternoon, according to newspaper L’Equipe.

They set off smoke bombs and fireworks at the entrance, causing small fires on surrounding trees and bushes.

Players were at La Commanderie at the time of the protest, and defender Alvaro Gonzalez has reportedly been hit by a projectile on his way to talk to the fans, but his injuries are not serious.

“I wanted to say that I am feeling well,” Gonzalez said on Twitter on Saturday evening. “A big hug to everybody.”

In a statement, Olympique condemned the “unacceptable attack” calling it an “an unjustifiable outburst of violence which endangered the lives of those present.”

The club said that vehicles were damaged, five trees were set on fire and some items were stolen, adding that the damage to the interior amounted to “several thousand euros.”

The reason for such protest is Olympique’s bad form. The team were recently defeated by Paris Saint-Germain in the French Super Cup and have collected three consecutive defeats in the league.

Olympique are currently sixth in the standings, 13 points off the Champions league spot.