In an interview with FIFA.com two weeks ago, Olympique de Marseille president Pape Diouf presented the noble goal of using football to fight racism and break down cultural ill feelings. “This sport brings people together and that’s its beauty,” he told the site.
Unfortunately for Diouf, life back in Marseille isn’t all about using the sport to eliminate the world’s disharmonies. In fact, it’s become so acrimonious in the Ligue 1 camp between manager Eric Gerets and owner Robert Louis-Dreyfus that Gerets plans to leave the club, in spite of the fact that Marseille are on the pinnacle of winning their first championship since 1992.
Last season, Gerets was brought in by Diouf to try and bring some respectability back to a team that hadn’t won a league championship since 1992 (for some perspective, 1992 was also Leeds United’s last First Division title). When Gerets took over early last year, Les Phocéens were 18th in the table; they ended the season in third, qualifying for the Champions League. That’s a pretty good recovery.
Around Christmas of this year, Marseille stumbled a little; they fell from third place to fifth place, and Mr. Louis-Dreyfus demanded a second place finish. Says Gerets:
“I felt I was being attacked, and (Louis-Dreyfus) doubtless forgot how far we’d come. He had doubts. Someone who tells you that you must finish the season in second place is someone who has doubts and I didn’t understand this very well.”
To make matters worse for Marseille, Pape Diouf himself is also thinking about leaving at the end of the season. Under Diouf, the French side has never finished lower than fifth place.
This wouldn’t technically be a resignation or a firing of Gerets; his contract is up in July. Simply put, he’s just saying that he has no intention of signing a new deal. Still, with Marseille poised to unseat Lyon as reigning champions, this is exactly the kind of distraction they don’t need.
I don’t trust anyone who’s last name is “Diouf” quite frankly.