Pope Francis’s funeral behind Marseille’s early return to France | OneFootball

According to a report from L’Équipe, the funeral of Pope Francis is the reason behind why Olympique de Marseille have rescheduled their travel plans.

The club arrived in Rome for a sporting retreat on Tuesday, but will return to France today to prepare for Sunday’s fixture against Stade Brestois. However, their arrival coincided with the unexpected death of Pope Francis on Monday morning.

Les Phocéens had initially planned to return to Marseille for their home game on the Saturday. However, because of the increased air traffic in and out of Rome as international travellers and delegations arrive for the Pope’s funeral on Saturday morning, the club’s plans were brought forward by a day.

Marseille took the unprecedented decision to have a midseason training camp in Italy as an attempt to avoid the toxicity of their more familiar environment, and to refocus the squad after a downward turn of five losses in three games has fostered fears that the squad will miss out on their goal of Champions League football.

GFFN | Nick Hartland