Ecology and environmentalism have become increasingly prevalent in discussions about how football teams travel to and from matches, especially in France. Former Paris Saint-Germain manager Christophe Galtier came in for considerable criticism last season when he joked that the team would take a sand yacht, rather than a private jet to their away matches. It came in the wake of PSG’s decision to take a jet, rather than a two-hour train, to face FC Nantes. 

Bastia are now coming in for criticism over their mode of transport. The Ligue 2 have already travelled to Corsican rivals Ajaccio ahead of Monday night’s match. Instead of taking the bus, which would take just two hours, Bastia have hired a private jet from Nice, to allow them to then make the 15-minute flight to Ajaccio. As well as the environmental cost of the decision, the economic cost has also been called into question. Bastia have one of the lowest budgets in Ligue 2, and this journey alone will cost them €15,000. 

GFFN | Luke Entwistle

Scène ubuesque à Ajaccio lors de Ajaccio-Bordeaux, où des supporters ajacciens et bordelais se battent dans la tribune avec des échelles, des chaises.. Catastrophique !! #ACAFCGB pic.twitter.com/zoQq3E0F6J

— Stadiumito (@stadiumito) August 21, 2023

Security services managed to remove the visiting supporters from the stadium. The game eventually resumed after a near 40-minute suspension. Girondins de Bordeaux released a statement in which they expressed their clear condemnation of the non-compliance by a small group of supporters with the prefectoral decree. The Ligue 2 club also condemns the violent scenes of fan unrest which followed. “The club trusts the authorities to take the appropriate actions.” Les Girondins have already been hit by a 1-point deduction for this league campaign after a member of the Ultramarines shoved a Rodez player to the ground during the previous campaign’s final game.

GFFN | Bastien Cheval

It is a busy summer for Toulouse FC. The Garonne club has decided to overhaul his coaching department with the dismissal of Montanier. Besides, the 2023 Coupe de France winners are in talks with UEFA regarding their participation in the Europa League next season. The club’s owners, RedBird Capital Partners, are the majority shareholder of AC Milan. UEFA rules state that two clubs owned by the same entity cannot be guaranteed an entry in this particular combination of continental competitions, even if Toulouse are due to play the Europa League and Milan the Champions League.

GFFN | Bastien Cheval

Unfortunately, Ajaccio have failed in their mission and will return to the French second-tier league after only one Ligue 1 season. The Olivier Pantaloni-led side have only racked up 23 points this season, loosing 26 league games out of a possible 37.

“On and off pitch, Mathieu, you have been and you will always remain a role model for many generations of Acéistes to come. AC Aiacciu is proud to have counted in its ranks the player and the man of great value that you are,” the 19th-placed Ligue 1 have written in a club statement. Coutadeur played his 185th and final game with the Bears on Saturday night as Ajaccio hosted third-placed Marseille. It was also Igor Tudor’s final appearance in the dugout for Les Phocéens.

GFFN | Bastien Cheval

The 8-year-old Kenzo has brain cancer and was invited in Corsica, in order to make his “dream” come true to meet the OM players. He was joined by his brother and his two parents. Unfortunately, things turned sour when Ajaccio supporters took aim at Kenzo and his parents. Left bloodied, his face badly wounded and his Marseille shirt stolen, Kenzo has since made the news around the country, with yet another incident of fan violence in France.

As reported previously, the child hit a railing, while the mother was stamped on and the father was punched twice, with the child’s kits being stolen and burnt. Marseille president Pablo Longoria, invited the family into his own hospitality box in order to watch the game safely, after being taken care of by emergency services.

While Ajaccio have since published a statement saying that “these individuals in no way represent the values ​​of our club and of our island” and that “AC Ajaccio will shed full light on these shameful actions”, the club have still not filed a complaint, as explained in a statement by Ajaccio public prosecutor, Nicolas Septe.

The four members of Kenzo’s family are expected to testify on Tuesday, with a medical examination conducted on all four individuals in Marseille. Additionally, the magistrate responsible for the case has ordered that police officers have access to video footage from the Stade Coty of Ajaccio in order to identify the individuals responsible for the assault.

GFFN | Tom Abadie

Kenzo and his parents were invited by airline Air Corsica to attend the game from their hospitality suite at the Stade François-Coty. It was Kenzo’s dream to meet Les Phocéens. 45 minutes before kick-off, Kenzo asked his parents if he could wear one of the two Marseille kits they brought along. Then, about a dozen people converged on the hospitality box with malicious intent.

“I was shoved, almost stamped on“, said Amandine, Kenzo’s mother to the outlet. “They punched my husband twice, stole the kits and burned them. In the scramble, Kenzo hit a railing. It’s shameful.” The victims were taken care of by emergency services and invited to attend the game by Marseille president Pablo Longoria from his own hospitality box. “Kenzo was panicked“, said the Spaniard, who was shocked by the family’s ordeal.

Later on Saturday, Ajaccio released a statement to condemn those acts of violence. “These individuals in no way represent the values ​​of our club and of our island. Even the most extreme stupidity cannot excuse this behaviour. AC Ajaccio will shed full light on these shameful actions. As soon as the individuals have been identified by our services, we will file a complaint against them. AC Ajaccio is in solidarity with little Kenzo and his parents.”

GFFN | Bastien Cheval

Whilst it is unclear whether it will be Guendouzi’s final game, amidst links with a return to the Premier League, it will definitely be Igor Tudor’s final game as manager. The Croatian confirmed that he will leave the club when the season ends. He doesn’t have any fresh injury concerns going into the game, which ultimately carries no significance for either side. Marseille re already guaranteed third place, and therefore a place in the Champions League places, whilst AC Ajaccio are already relegated. 

Dimitri Payet is suspended and may have already played his last game for Les Phocéens. Valentin Rongier is also suspended, whilst Samuel Gigot, Azzedine Ounahi and Amine Harit are all unavailable due to injury. 

Marseille likely XI v Ajaccio

Rubén Blanco – Sead Kolasinac, Leonardo Balerdi, Chancel Mbemba – Jonathan Clauss, Mattéo Guendouzi, Jordan Veretout, Issa Kaboré – Ruslan Malinovskyi, Alexis Sánchez, Cenzig Ünder. (L’Éq)

GFFN | Luke Entwistle

As they prepare to see their fate sealed at the Parc des Princes tonight, their long-time president, Alain Orsoni, will be watching from a distance – over 9,500km away, to be precise. 

A former leader for the Corsican nationalist cause, Orsoni spoke to Le Parisien in the build-up to the game, explains that he lives in Managua, the Central American country’s capital, “for personal and professional reasons”. He had returned to Corsica in 2008 to take charge of the club until 2015, and was the target of an assassination attempt the same year. In 2022, after the club’s promotion back to Ligue 1, he returned to the presidency – having until then been the president of the supervisory board – when Christian Leca stepped down. He totals 31 years at the club.

He explains that he is in regular contact with manager Olivier Pantaloni and Sporting Coordinator, Johan Cavalli, and returns to the island “five or six times a year”. He watches games from the distance, but with the same fervour as a match-going fan – “I’ve already broken iPads while watching games!”. 

Orsoni, in the same vein as former Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas, interacts with fans on social media, and has lamented what he sees as an increasingly financially “closed–off” top flight which looks to exclude small towns – including that of the Corsican capital, which hosts Ligue 1’s smallest budget. “That’s not how I see sport, we are small and we will stay that way. But we’re going to use this season, and draw conclusions to try and go back up in two, three years’ time”. Whether that will be with the 69-year-old still at the helm, though, remains to be seen.

GFFN | Raphaël Jucobin 

Messi was supposed to miss this weekend’s match against AC Ajaccio at the Parc des Princes, but he returns to the fold having made an apology for his unsanctioned trip to Saudi Arabia. Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Christophe Galtier confirmed that Messi would start the match. 

Consequently, PSG look set to revert to a 3-4-3, with Messi and Ekitiké joined by Kylian Mbappé. There are no fresh injury concerns for Les Parisiens with Presnel Kimpembé, Nuno Mendes, Neymar and Nordi Mukiele all ruled out until the end pf the season. 

PSG likely lineup v Ajaccio

Gianluigi Donnarumma – Danilo Pereira, Sergio Ramos, Marquinhos – Juan Bernat, Fabián Ruiz, Marco Verratti, Achraf Hakimi – Kylian Mbappé, Hugo Ekitiké, Lionel Messi. (L’Éq)

GFFN | Luke Entwistle

The Corsicans add that the 31-year-old also behaved “inappropriately” towards fans in the wake of last weekend’s home draw against Brest.

Not for the first time this season, the Algerian international has missed training without the club’s permission – he had previously delayed his return from the March international break, citing an adductor injury which he said he was treating in his hometown of Oran.

Belaïli, who has six goals and five assists this season, saw his contract terminated at Brest earlier this campaign, before his mid-season move to Corsica. Previously, the forward had a brief spell with Angers in the 2017/18, before playing in Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar. He had arrived in Brittany in January of 2022, but is said to have grown increasingly homesick and unhappy.

GFFN | Raphaël Jucobin