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Lyon will appeal against the decision to make them face Marseille in front of home fans because they want to \u201cplay football without being afraid\u201d.<\/p>\n
Lyon\u2019s bus was attacked by Marseille supporters on 29 October, forcing the Stade Velodrome game to be postponed.<\/p>\n
The French League (LFP) has rearranged the match for 6 December and say fans will be allowed to attend.<\/p>\n
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\u201cWe want to play the game on neutral ground,\u201d Lyon director of football Vincent Ponsot said.<\/p>\n
Lyon manager Fabio Grosso sustained facial injuries and his assistant Raffaele Longo was also struck by projectiles,\u00a0when the bus was hit by rocks\u00a0on its way to Marseille\u2019s ground.<\/p>\n
On Thursday, French Ligue 1 bosses confirmed the rearranged midweek match will be played at 21:00 local time (20:00 GMT).<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to be able to play football without being afraid or without taking any risks,\u201d Ponsot added.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are not going to stop here. We owe it to the players and the staff.\u201d<\/p>\n
But he said: \u201cWe don\u2019t want there to be any sporting punishment because the Marseille players had nothing to do with it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The rivalry between the two clubs is one of the most intense in French football.<\/p>\n
In 2021, a match between the two clubs in Lyon was called off when Marseille forward Dimitri Payet was struck by a bottle thrown from the home fans. Lyon were later docked a point for the crowd trouble.<\/p>\n
The planned game a fortnight ago was the first time in several years that Lyon fans had been allowed to travel.<\/p>\n
French sports minister Amelie Oudea-Castera said that\u00a0seven arrests had been made\u00a0after six coaches with Lyon fans were also targeted before the match.<\/p>\n
Social media images showed a bloodied Grosso lying on a stretcher and Lyon president John Textor told Prime Video the Italian had \u201cshards of glass in his face\u201d.<\/p>\n
The club initially wanted to play the match, but opinions changed following news of the injuries to Grosso and Longo, with the players\u2019 mental states also taken into account.<\/p>\n
In statements, Lyon said it \u201cregrets that this type of situation occurs every year in Marseille\u201d, while Marseille said it \u201cdeplores the unacceptable incidents\u201d.<\/p>\n
Last week, Lille said 250 of their fans had been banned from travelling to the Stade Velodrome for their league game because of safety concerns following the incident.<\/p>\n
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