Didier Deschamps drawn into Marseille tifo controversy

Didier Deschamps has been drawn into a controversy at Marseille after the South Winners displayed a Spanish-themed banner during the club’s opening Ligue 1 fixture. The tifo read “Viva Roja” and used Spain’s colours, prompting claims that it was an indirect criticism of Deschamps and the France team after Spain’s World Cup triumph this summer.

The incident came as Marseille began the season with a 4-0 victory over Strasbourg at the Stade Vélodrome. The attention, however, quickly shifted from the result to the message in the South Stand and its possible meaning.

Rachid Zeroual, a leading South Winners figure and the group’s vice-president, rejected the interpretation that the display targeted Deschamps. He said Spain’s collective football had impressed him, while also pointing to Spanish members within the supporters’ group and its multicultural identity. He urged observers not to attach hostile motives to the banner.

The explanation was met with particular interest because Zeroual has a long-standing strained relationship with Deschamps. During Deschamps’ time as Marseille coach from 2009 to 2012, Zeroual said he confronted him at a restaurant and urged him to leave the club. He also recounted making a violent threat during that encounter, after which Deschamps departed Marseille. The latest tifo has therefore revived an old dispute despite the South Winners’ denial of any message aimed at the former Marseille coach.