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No show: Jonny Wilkinson & co
will not be playing in Marseille
Photo: Michael Paler |
Toulon’s high-profile
clash with Top 14 newcomers Racing-Métro
92 (on Aug 22) has been moved back to the Stade Félix
Mayol due to safety concerns at Olympique Marseille’s Stade
Vélodrome.
Toulon
had been hoping to draw a 57,000 crowd to the match – as
they did when they moved last season’s home match against
Stade Toulousain – but the Stade Velodrome has now been
closed for up to eight weeks after two workers were killed
(including a Briton) when a crane collapsed while
constructing a stage for an upcoming Madonna concert. Eight
others were also injured in the incident.
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Marseilles prosecutor Jacques Dallest said on Tuesday that
the stadium had effectively become a potential crime scene
and that investigators would need up to eight weeks to carry
out their work. That time scale rules out Marseille hosting
the Toulon-Racing clash, resulting in Toulon moving the game
back to their own Stade Felix Mayol, and also missing out on
a potential cash windfall.
Olympique Marseille will also have to move two of their
scheduled home matches due to the ongoing investigation.
The two
dead men were named as Charles Criscenzo (52) and Briton
Charles Prow (23).
Madonna,
meanwhile, flew into Marseille to meet families of the
injured and dead. The singer was praised for her “humanity”
by the city’s Mayor Jean-Claude Gaudin after flying in from
Italy following Thursday’s incident.
She
subsequently talked about the accident at that evening’s
concert, in Udine. “Two men lost their lives, which is a
great tragedy to me,” she said tearfully. “I feel so
devastated to be in any way associated with anyone’s
suffering. So let’s all just take a moment to say a prayer
for Charles Criscenzo and Charlie Prow. Our hearts and go
out to their families and their loved ones,” she said.
A judicial official is reportedly looking at
a possible error in how the stage roof was raised, and is
said to be considering manslaughter charges.
The
Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR) has also confirmed that
Bayonne’s home match against Stade Francais
has been switched, with the Basques granted permission to
play the game at Real Sociedad’s Estadio Anoeta in San
Sebastien (Spain).
The
game, due to played on Friday August 21, is the first of two
Top 14 matches to be hosted at the Estadio Anoeta (capacity
32,000) this season. Neighbours Biarritz will also play
Bayonne there in the Basque derby on September 12.
The NRL has further confirmed that
Bourgoin’s home match against Perpignan will be
played at Grenoble Foot 38’s Stade des Alpes on September 11
(at 20.35). The football stadium can hold up to 20,000, more
than doubling Bourgoin’s usual capacity.
