Marseille fan goes on hunger strike in protest against star & tricks Arsenal's Tavares into signing petition to BAN him

Posted Thursday, March 16, 2023 by Thesun.co.uk

A MARSEILLE fan has gone on hunger strike in a bizarre protest against defender Leonardo Balerdi.

The 24-year-old joined from Borussia Dortmund in 2021 following a successful loan spell and has so far made 85 appearances for Igor Tudor's side.

However it appears that certain sections of the Marseille fan base aren't too fond of him and want him to leave the club.

One supporter has gone to extreme lengths to show his dislike of the former Boca Juniors player.

He turned up outside the Robert Louis-Dreyfus entertainment centre with a cardboard sign.

The sign had the word "dehors" meaning "out" written three times and it also said he would be starting a hunger strike to get his way.

It continued: "Le peuple Marseilles ne veut plus de toi, respect nous merci."

This translates as "the people of Marseille don't want you anymore, respect us, thank you".

The fan even managed to get Arsenal loanee Nuno Tavares to sign a petition to ban the defender from the club.

Marseille midfielder Mattéo Guendouzi confronted the protester and said: "Everybody makes mistakes."

L'Equipe journalist Mathieu Gregoire posted the images to his Twitter account while defending Balerdi and pointing towards the performance of the team as a whole.

The image had a video accompanying it showing members of staff talking to the fan whilst reading his sign, seemingly looking confused about what he was doing.

Balerdi was sent off in last weekend's 2-2 draw with Strasbourg which leaves Marseille ten points behind PSG in Ligue 1.

Tudor defended his player after the game saying: "No. For me, what makes the difference in this match is the non-existent red card.

"The referee made a mistake because he didn't understand the difference that I experienced as a player, between simply being touched and really being pushed."

It appears unlikely the fan will get his wish soon as the defender is contracted until 2026.

Balerdi has made 27 appearances for Marseille this season, registering one assist.