This Thursday marked the 30th anniversary of the Furiani tragedy, which infuriated and filled the world with disease, as 19 people died and 2,357 were injured after sinking on May 5, 1992, the additional stand put up to increase the capacity of Armand- Cesari stadium, where Bastia and Marseille, then the best team in France, will play in the semi-finals of the French Cup.
Due to the desire to increase the capacity of Armand-Cesari by 50 percent (8,000 more seats), the authorities gave permission to erect the stand, 20 meters high. And it was built despite previous problems that arose. Before the fight started, when Jean-Pierre Papin, Basile Boli and the other Marseille figures were in the locker room, the stands collapsed. Horror and pain prevailed in the stadium. It is an incurable wound in France and in the world of football.
In fact, of the 13 people tried, only one, Jean-Marie Boimond, stand builder and technical director of the Sud-Tribune company, was sentenced to two years in prison, which he did not appeal. . Another eight received fines.
When Marseille and Feyenoord head to the Vélodrome pitch this Thursday to play the second leg of the Conference League semi-finals (3-2 in Rotterdam in the first leg), a minute of silence will be observed for the victims of Furiani’s tragedy. On the screens, messages in his memory. A text will be read by the speakers. Marseille players will wear a bracelet as a sign of mourning. All this amid controversy over the fact that the match was played on May 5, as a law was approved in France where no match against its competitions could be played on this date, as a mark of respect for the victims of Furiani. . But this law does not apply to international competitions.
That Bastia-Marseille has to be a party for fans of said Corsican group. Marseille, four consecutive French champions, arrived in the semifinals of a Cup that was eventually canceled, as a result of the tragedy. Because that night ended in drama, one of the darkest chapters in French and world football.
Source: La Verdad
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