Lyon's proposed Ligue 1 battle with Marseille in Choc des Olympiques has been postponed after the visitors' team bus was attacked by supporters en route to the Orange Velodrome.
As Les Gones made their way to the home of their rivals, the coach carrying players and staff members came under siege from Marseille fans, who threw stones at the vehicle.
Images shared by journalist Fabrizio Romano show Lyon head coach Fabio Grosso receiving medical treatment for a nasty facial injury, which left the former Italy international bloodied.
Grosso was then seen emerging from the infirmary with a bandage around his head, and reports have stated that the Gones boss sustained a 3cm long cut, as well as a suspected concussion.
Lyon and Marseille were due to kick off at 20.45 local time (19.45 GMT), but as tensions inside the stadium threatened to boil over as well, the decision was taken to call the game off.
A statement from the Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) confirmed that Lyon did not want the derby to take place in the wake of the incident, and no alternative date has been proposed yet.
🚨 OL manager Fabio Grosso injured after team coach was attacked with stones whilst travelling to Marseille.
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) October 29, 2023
Emergency medical treatment for Fabio Grosso tonight. pic.twitter.com/0bFuHizhyp
"During the crisis unit meeting following the incidents that occurred outside the Velodrome stadium on the route of its bus, Olympique Lyonnais made known its opposition to taking part in the meeting given the circumstances," a statement read.
"In consultation with Olympique de Marseille and the public authorities, the OM-OL meeting will therefore not be played this evening at 8:45 p.m. It will now be up to the Competitions Commission to decide on the fate of this meeting by application of article 544 of the competition regulations."
However, Lyon owner John Textor refuted the LFP's statement and claimed that his side wanted to play the game, telling Prime Video Sport: "Very quickly after it happened we had a team meeting, we would talk as a team, they would come together and make the decision independently.
"Our team decided they would play. They wanted to play, they tried to tell the league that they were ready to play. I'm proud of the captain, proud of the players for wanting to do that.
"It was emotional, we have a coach who has blood coming out of his head, he wasn't really lucid. At that point the decision was being made independently of us. It was quite a shocking scene, it looked like he had a concussion."
Marseille could face a hefty fine or possible points deduction in the wake of the incident, which comes two years after Lyon were docked a point due to a bottle being thrown at Dimitri Payet from their fans in the Derby des Olympiques.
Ben Knapton
