Empty ends, whistles and anti-board banners at the Vélodrome for OM vs Strasbourg | OneFootball

Saturday afternoon’s OM vs Strasbourg began under a hostile backdrop at the Vélodrome, with whistles and banners calling for the board to go.

L'Équipe reports that Pancho Abardonado and his players had braced for this after the 0-5 at the Parc des Princes last Sunday and Roberto De Zerbi’s departure earlier in the week, and the mood confirmed those fears before kick-off.

From the moment the gates opened, a banner high in the south stand suggested that sacking a scapegoat would not fix what was described as a rotten system.

As the teams emerged, the ends behind the goals stayed empty, the lower section of the south stand was closed as a disciplinary sanction, while whistles came from the other stands.

In the north stand, further messages said the empty end was a protest, cast the club as self-destructing, and claimed years of projects had gone up in smoke. Lower down, large red letters told McCourt and Longoria to leave. The club owner was in attendance.

Source: L'Équipe