Lyon’s Ligue 1 clash at Marseille was postponed after the visiting team bus sustained a heavy attack that left boss Fabio Grosso covered in blood.
The two clubs are heated rivals in French football and Lyon’s team bus was pelted with stones and bricks as it made its way towards Marseille’s Velodrome stadium. Grosso – a former World Cup winner with Italy – was injured and bleeding heavily as shards of glass cut his face.
Upon arrival at the stadium, Grosso received emergency medical treatment from experts at the ground to help stop the bleeding. The incident led to a decision being reached that the game should be called off - with further punishment for the home side now likely.
Grosso was heavily bandaged after being attended by medics at the stadium. The rocks launched at the bus had perforated the glass with shards of the broken glass hitting Grosso on the face. It is unclear if any other injuries were sustained by those on the bus.
Grosso’s assistant, Raffaele Longo, is also reported to have been hit in the eye by shards of glass as the windows on the right side of the bus gave way following the attack. Players leaving the bus appeared to have been left shaken, unsurprisingly, by the incident.
At present, no one knows the seriousness of the injuries caused to the former Italian full-back. Grosso was only appointed at the French club last month - replacing former Manchester United defender Laurent Blanc in the dugout. When the Italian was appointed, Lyon were at the foot of Ligue 1.
The club's fortunes have not improved since, with just one point picked up in the four matches since the managerial change. Lyon currently lie two points adrift of Clermont at the bottom of the standings. Marseille went into Sunday night's meeting in ninth place, with three wins from their opening nine league games.
This is not the first time that a match between Marseille and Lyon has been stopped. On 21st November 2021, the match between the sides was stopped after Dimitri Payer was struck by a bottle thrown from the stands. On that occasion, OL received a one-point deduction and the match was then played behind closed doors.