In Lyon, the arrival of Juventus Turin and its supporters does not affect the tranquility of the capital of Gaul for the moment. No question of departing from the tradition of Lyon hospitality on the occasion of this round of 16 first leg of the Champions League scheduled for Wednesday, February 26 from 8:45 p.m. The night before, as usual, President Jean- Michel Aulas invited the leaders of his prestigious European adversary to dinner at the Paul Bocuse restaurant.
The meeting will be held in the Lyon suburbs, in the town of Décines-Charpieu, where the OL stadium has been located since 2016. And despite the concern expressed in a press release by the Decinese mayor, Laurence Fautra and his counterpart in the town neighbor of Meyzieu, Christophe Quiniou, the supporters of Juventus did make the trip.
On Tuesday, French authorities and the organizer, the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), confirmed that the match would continue. The Piedmontese club had thus been able to reassure its many tifosi: "French authorities and Olympique Lyonnais say fans who follow Juventus will be able to watch the match without problem. There are no specific restrictions for tifosi bianconeri. "
"There is no identified patient in Turin, nor in the Piedmont region. There is no need to prevent supporters from coming ", meanwhile assured the Minister of Health, Olivier Véran. All the supporters of "Juve" will not, however, come from Turin and Piedmont.
Page Contents
"We were not going to give up supporting our club"
Wednesday morning, match day, we could already see some of them in the city center. In a funny mood on Bellecour square, a group of nine people, coming from the Lombardy town of Saronno, north of Milan and 87 km from Codogno, one of the main cities placed under quarantine, first took selfies before asking a passerby to take a group photo. Questioned by several media, these Tifosi exhaled serenity: "We are OK, it's OK. "
A little further, Simone, a forty-something native of Turin and accompanied by his family, displayed the same tranquility: "We traveled by car and we were not checked. We were not going to give up supporting our club. There is no psychosis. "
A sentiment shared by Pascal Di Placedo, president of the supporter section of the Juventus club in Essonne, contacted by phone: "We are already in Lyon (a group of 14 people) and we will get our tickets. Earlier, we are going to have lunch with the Lombards. Everyone will end up in the city center. "
For this passionate Frenchman, the epidemic is not specific to Italy: "I think it's the same in France except that we don't talk about it. We discussed it among ourselves. It is believed that Europe will be affected like Italy. "
Closed for matches in Italy
Among supporters of Lyon, it is rather the bickering with the management of the club that the question of the coronavirus that occupies the minds.
OL informs that the club will now file a complaint for all the content posted or shared on its networks … https://t.co/qBu0QdChxa
On Twitter, allusions to the displacement of Juventus fans lend themselves more to a few jokes than to real concern.
Editor-in-chief of a media supporter, Café du commerce OL, Jonathan transcribes the state of mind of his peers: "The supporters are astonished that the Turinese have the right to move but, in fact, there is no psychosis. Probably because it does not yet affect France in significant proportions. "
In Italy, a closed session was indeed imposed for six games of the next day of the championship, this weekend, including the clash between Juventus Turin and Inter Milan, Sunday. The Milanese players will also play their Europa League match behind closed doors against the Bulgarians in Ludogorets on Thursday.
Coming from all over Italy but also from France and Europe, the 3,000 supporters of Juve (official figure) will land directly at the stadium for those who have traveled by coach. Those who have traveled by car will be transported to the visitor parking lot from a relay parking lot.
"We trust the people who made this decision"
On the OL side, the club says it has complied with the instructions. “I am not competent to judge the decisions of the French health authorities who have information that I do not have. We trust the people who took " the decision to keep the coming of the Italian supporters "And we apply them", responded Xavier Pierrot, stadium manager of OL.
Asked about the possibility that the number of supporters of the Old Lady is underestimated (Pascal Di Placedo estimates it at 6,000), Xavier Pierrot is cautious: “Normally, we expect 3,000 visiting supporters. Afterwards, it is possible that Lyonnais who support the two clubs, as during the match against Benfica, are scattered in the stands. Whether there are 10, 50 or 1,000, I can't tell you. "
The same goes for the fact that a certain number of Lyonnais were able to resell their tickets to "juventini" fans, as noted by the president of the Juventus club of Essonne. "It is possible but in this case the seller remains responsible for the behavior of the buyer at the stadium", recognized Pierrot.
On Sunday evening, Juventus and Olympique Lyonnais will play two major matches in the framework of their respective championships. If the Turinese will face Inter behind closed doors, OL will welcome him, the neighbor Saint-Etienne without the presence of opposing supporters: their movement has been prohibited by the Rhône prefecture for security reasons linked to the rivalry between the two clubs.
For Xavier Pierrot, there is however no inconsistency between two situations " which have nothing to do and cannot be compared since on the one hand, it is the prefecture which has the power of decision, on the other, it is the French health authorities. "
