■ Europa League: Besiktas v Lyon, Thursday at 11.05pm; Lyon lead 2-1 on aggregate
In the middle of last July, Olympique Lyonnais’ squad set off for Istanbul, optimistic about the campaign ahead of them, ready to move up the gears of their pre-season. Their friendly at Fenerbahce was to be part of their preparation.
They trained at their host club’s practice site the day before the scheduled fixture. That night, an attempted political coup brought Turkey to a standstill. In their hotel, the Lyon players and staff felt confused, then alarmed at the news reaching them. The city had gone into emergency shutdown. The match was cancelled, and they flew home.
Nobody then imagined this might form part of a pattern — of tension, of delays, of abandonments that have become a feature of Lyon’s 2016-17 season, most heavily concentrated into the last seven days.
The team landed in Istanbul on Wednesday for the second leg of a Europa League quarter-final against Besiktas that began in the ugliest circumstances. The first leg kick-off at the French club’s new Parc OL was delayed for 45 minutes because of violence, notably projectiles hurled from a high section of one grandstand — where followers of the Turkish champions were concentrated — onto Lyon fans housed beneath them. There were pitch invasions, and in a toxic atmosphere, enough order restored eventually for 90 minutes of football, won 2-1 by Lyon.
__________________________________
Read more
■ Manchester United's Europa League campaign suddenly a means to an end for pragmatic Jose Mourinho
■ 'The last man standing': Chelsea's John Terry a model of consistency in a golden age of centre-backs
__________________________________
The club’s next match, Sunday’s Ligue 1 visit to Bastia in Corsica, never made the final whistle.
A series of acts of aggression from Bastia followers allegedly attached to the notorious “Bastia 1905” group of ultras towards Lyon players during the warm-up ahead of kick-off led, first, to a delayed kick-off, and, because of the seething atmosphere under which the match had started, to an abandonment at half-time. Lyon goalkeeper Anthony Lopes had been confronted by Bastia stewards on his way to the dressing room at half-time and scuffled — this the same Lopes who was injured by a firework thrown from the crowd at Metz back in December.
Lyon’s repeated proximity to events that have disfigured French football this season does not put them at the focus of blame. Far from it, although the club’s security arrangements for the visit of Besiktas will be examined by Uefa, as will the conduct of the Besiktas followers in France last Thursday. Lyon fans have been discouraged from travelling to Wednesday’s return leg in a Turkey that remains politically edgy after last week’s referendum on constitutional reform.
As for the Lyon players, a week after they were anxiously texting family members in the crowd as they waited in the dressing room for word of when, or if, the first leg would kick off, while police and stewards attempted to quell the trouble in the Parc OL, and four days after the violence at Bastia, they approach their most significant game of the season in less than an ideal state of mind.
“We have asked ourselves a lot of questions,” Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas said. “But we want to reach this semi-final. And we are never so strong as when we are facing problems.”
Aulas’s request that the return be played at a neutral venue were dismissed by Uefa and Besiktas. The Turkish club, who are anxious there be no further incidents that could worsen any sanctions against them, have assured Lyon there is no threat to their safety at their modern arena.
It will certainly be noisy and intimidating. Besiktas, after all, are on the cusp of history, and the possibility of a first ever semi-final in a major European competition. They dropped into the Europa League only after having missed out on the Champions League knockout phase on the last day of their group stage round-robin, in which they had beaten and drawn with Napoli and held Benfica to two draws, the second of which featured a comeback from 3-0 down at their raucous home.
“We can qualify and turn this tie around,” Besikstas manager Senol Gunes said. But he must do so without centre-forward Vincent Aboubakar and defender Marcelo, both suspended.
As for Lyon, fourth in Ligue 1 and too far behind third place to qualify via their league position for next season’s Champions League, the Europa League will make or break their campaign, and shape whether it is to be remembered for its achievements or for the ugly events that overshadowed the football.
Follow us on Twitter @NatSportUAE
Like us on Facebook at facebook.com/TheNationalSport