Marseille - Rennes postponed sine die
The match between Olympique de Marseille and Stade Rennes, initially scheduled this Saturday, 21:00 CET, has been postponed because of the heavy rain pouring all day over the stade Vélodrome. The improvement of the weather conditions wished by the teams happened, but it wasn’t significant enough for a kick-off this Sunday. Therefore, the game will be played at a later date to be determined.
All day, buckets of water poured over Marseille and the Vélodrome Stadium, so much that some mocking observers were wondering if Rennes had not brought weather made in Brittany to take the edge over the Olympians.
Finally, shortly after 20:00, the match was officially postponed, the conditions being not gathered for a safe practice of football, this Saturday evening on the Mediterranean coast. “What matters most is the safety of the players”, the game’s referee Freddy Fautrel reminded to justify the decision to postpone the game. A decision shared by Frédéric Antonetti, who admitted to daily newspaper La Provence that the game was “sincerely not playable” in these conditions.
On Sunday morning, a slight hope remained, to see the game being played during the afternoon. Planned for 13:00 CET, the decision on playing the game was even delayed until 13:00, to avoid any doubts. But the state of the pitch, waterlogged, and the continuous rain falling over Marseille ended up washing up all hopes.
Logically, M. Fautrel decided to adjourn the game again, this time sine die.
In the next few days, the LFP’s competitions commission will have to find a date in which to play this game. A difficult task, with the Olympique de Marseille calendar being heavily loaded already.
- Photo : Sophie Roques, via Flickr