‘It seemed normal to do something’ – Roberto De Zerbi defends confronting crowd trouble at Metz

Whilst things were going perfectly well for Olympique de Marseille on the pitch (0-3), tensions were mounting off it at Stade Symphorien last Saturday as crowd trouble caused a significant stoppage following OM’s third goal of the afternoon against Ligue 1’s bottom side. Amine Gouiri slotted Marseille’s final goal of the afternoon on the 76th minute of play, which saw a stoppage in play as Metz’s ultras took exception to Marseille supporters celebrating the goal in the home stands. No casualties were reported, but Roberto De Zerbi and numerous Marseille players had gone over to confront the home fans, who had also thrown objects onto the pitch towards the away side.“I saw supporters surrounded, it seemed normal for me to do something, no?” said Roberto De Zerbi following the match to Téléfoot. The Italian had walked down the touchline all the way to the bottom of the stands where the incidents took place, which died down after the intervention of Metz’s security and referee Clément Turpin resumed play. It echoes previous cases where Marseille fans have defied advice to not go into the home stands of other grounds – with access to the away end restricted to members of OM’s six supporter organisations. This saw a significant delay against Le Havre, where Les Phocéens had clinched qualification to the UEFA Champions League after having to leave and re-enter the pitch following a 20 minute delay. Other incidents that season had also taken place at Montpellier, involving MHSC’s Butte Paillaide ultras searching out OM fans.GFFN | George Boxall