Saturday evening should have borne witness to Olympique Marseille hosting Rennes in Ligue 1, with the home side aiming to bounce back from a recent poor run of form.

Instead, the game was thrown into doubt due to an angry protest from Les Olympiens‘ supporters, so much so that authorities were left with no other option than to postpone the match.

But what exactly happened, and what has caused this volatile reaction from their fans?

Photo taken by La Provence/@jc_leblois of the ongoing incident at the Marseille training ground. More undoubtedly follows. pic.twitter.com/80h6E9Duat

— Get French Football News (@GFFN) January 30, 2021

Basically, Marseille aren’t very good at the moment. That’s it. OM have lost their last four matches in all competitions, including three defeats in Ligue 1 to Monaco, Lens and Nimes, and a disappointing loss to Paris Saint-Germain in a fiery Trophee des Champions final.

This unacceptable four-game losing streak saw supporters write ‚Vous Etes Degueulasses‘ (You Are Disgusting) in huge letters across where they would usually sit in the stadium, while there was another banner in the ground which read ‚Vous Nous Faites Honte‘ (You Bring Shame On Us).

They also left photos outside the ground insulting the club president, Jacques-Henri Eyraud. Nasty business.

Marseille’s home game against Rennes was postponed just three hours before kick-off today after angry Marseille fans marched to the club’s training ground to protest against poor results.

— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) January 30, 2021

The majority of Marseille supporters were preparing for their side’s home tie with Rennes on Saturday, hoping to see a reaction from a poor string of results. Well, the majority were. Another sizeable number decided to take matters into their own hands, marching to the club’s training ground and attempting to break into the complex.

Armed with flares, supporters began burning trees around the training ground, and launching missiles at players, who were present at the time. Defender Alvaro Gonzalez was hit on the back by a projectile, as the protesters seemingly managed to successfully storm La Commanderie.

Supporters caused hundreds of thousands of euros worth of damage to their training ground, while also stealing and breaking items inside the premises. These actions meant the game had to be postponed for the safety of the players, and no new date has been set to complete the fixture.

Security will have their work cut out for Marseille’s next home game, when they entertain bitter rivals PSG.

More footage of the unfolding incident at Marseille’s training ground – via @mercat_om. pic.twitter.com/WnrCQ3I4jl

— Get French Football News (@GFFN) January 30, 2021

Marseille were quick to respond to Saturday’s events, ’strongly condemning the unacceptable attack‘ by supporters, and they have sent all evidence gathered to investigators, who will try to punish those responsible for the damage and the danger caused.

„Olympique de Marseille strongly condemns the unacceptable attack suffered by the club in the middle of the afternoon inside the Robert-Louis Dreyfus training centre,“ an official statement explained.

„Despite the intervention of the police, an unjustifiable outbreak of violence endangered the lives of those present on site. Thefts were committed and vehicles were damaged. Five trees were burned with the sole desire to destroy. The damage inside the buildings amounts to several hundreds of thousands of euros.

„These irresponsible and unacceptable actions must be condemned with the utmost severity. Olympique de Marseille has all the evidence, and this was immediately forwarded to investigators.“

The club were not the only ones to take a stand against the supporters‘ enraged actions. Captain Steve Mandanda also spoke out, admitting he knows ‚everything about this club‘ but was ’saddened‘ by the extent to which the fans protested in ’such a surge of violence‘.

„I know everything about this club, I know the love and the frustration it can generate,“ said Mandanda.

„But today’s events sadden me and are unacceptable. We are football players and a sports crisis can in no way justify such a surge of violence.“